. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. CORMORANTS 95 They assemble in number.'^, sometimes several dozen pairs together, for the business of nest building. Often they breed in colonies with Herons and Ibises, but not always; for I have found as many as twenty-five nests at a time, all clustered about in a dozen trees, and no other water birds near. The nest is a bulky afJair of sticks and often some of the long gray Spanish moss is used. All the nests I have ever examined also contained freshly plucked leaves, which appeared to have been placed as a finishing touch just before the eggs w
. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. CORMORANTS 95 They assemble in number.'^, sometimes several dozen pairs together, for the business of nest building. Often they breed in colonies with Herons and Ibises, but not always; for I have found as many as twenty-five nests at a time, all clustered about in a dozen trees, and no other water birds near. The nest is a bulky afJair of sticks and often some of the long gray Spanish moss is used. All the nests I have ever examined also contained freshly plucked leaves, which appeared to have been placed as a finishing touch just before the eggs were laid. They inhabit the low countries, breeding in the coastal regions as far north as North Caro- lina and up the Mississippi valley to southern Illinois. They are fresh-water birds and rarely appear where the sea-water runs. T. Gilbert CORMORANTS Order Steganopodcs; family Phalacrocoracidcc. HE Cormorants comprise two genera, the Plialacrocorax, embracing the true Cor- morants, or " Shags " as they are frequently called, and including about thirty species, and the monotypic Naiuioptenim, with Harris's Cormorant, the flightless and rare bird of the Galapagos Islands, as its single representative. This bird is very large and uses its wings only as fins in swimming. Of the true Cormorants, about ten species occur in North America. They are chiefl-y maritime in their habitats, though some species are often found in fresh water far inland. They are disposed to be decidedly gregarious at all seasons, and during the breeding period they assemble in large colonies on ledges or rocky islands along the seacoast. When migrating they fly at a con- siderable altitude, but ordinarily they do not rise far above the water. They dive readily in pursuit of fish, but always from the surt'ace or a low perch, and not from the air. The superficial physical peculiarities of the Cormorants include a bare, expansible membrane under the lower mandible; a compressed bill of which
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Keywords: ., bookauthorpearsont, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookyear1923
