CORMORANT
119. Phalacrocorax carbo. 36 in.
Largest of our cormorants; tail with 14 feathers. Adults with glossy
black head, neck and underparts; in breeding season with white plumes on
the neck and a white patch on the flanks. Young with throat and belly
white, rest of underparts mixed brown with black. Cormorants feed
chiefly upon fish which they pursue and catch under water. They were
formerly extensively, and are now to a less extent, used by the Chinese
to catch fish for them, a ring being placed around their neck to prevent
their swallowing their prey.
Nest.—Made of seaweed and sticks on narrow ledges of rocky islets or sea
cliffs, this species being entirely maritime. The four eggs are
greenish-white, covered with a chalky deposit (2.50 × 1.40).
Range.—Breeds from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland north to Labrador and
Greenland; winters south to the middle states.
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DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT
120. Phalacrocorax auritus. 30 in.
Tail with 12 feathers; distinguished from the last species in any
plumage by the shape of the gular sac; on the common Cormorant the
feathers on the throat extend forward to a point, making the hind end of
the pouch heart-shaped, while in the present species it is convex. In
breeding plumage, this species has a tuft of black feathers on either
side of the head. The throat pouch is orange yellow; eyes green. These
cormorants are found to some extent along the Atlantic coast, in summer,
from Maine northward, but they are chiefly birds of the interior, being
particularly abundant in Manitoba.
Nest.—On ledges on the coast, and on the ground in the interior, or in
trees. The nests are made of sticks and weeds, shallow, shabby platforms
holding 3 or 4 eggs. The eggs are bluish-green and chalky.
Range.—Breeds from Maine, on the coast, Minnesota northward; locally in
North Carolina. Winters in the Gulf States. 120a., Fla. Cormorant, found
in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, is smaller.
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MEXICAN CORMORANT
121. Phalacrocorax vigua mexicanus. 25 in.
Adults with feathers bordering on the gular sac, white. In breeding
plumage, the sides of head and neck have tufts of filmy white feathers,
eyes green, as they are in all cormorants. All cormorants are expert
swimmers and fishermen. They never plunge for their prey, but pursue and
catch it under water, the same as do the grebes. When perching, they sit
erect with their neck bent in the form of a letter S. They fly with
their necks outstretched, and with rather slow wing beats. They are very
gregarious and nest in large colonies, this species always being found
in swamps or heavy shrubbery, surrounding bodies of water.
Nest.—Usually in trees overhanging the water, or upon the ground, in
either case being made of sticks and weeds. The 3 to 5 eggs are
bluish-green, covered with a chalky deposit (2.25 × 1.35).
Range.—Breeds north to the extreme southern boundary of the United
States; wanders north casually to Ill. in summer.
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