Part 33

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There are six families of birds included in Order XIV.--the Totally-webbed Swimmers. All four toes are joined by a web. Ducks have three toes only joined by the web, the hind toe being free. Representatives of the six families are found in Australia. These birds are fishers par excellence.

In the first family come the well-known Cormorants or Shags, birds found in almost every country in the world. Forty-two species are known, of which five occur in Australia.

The large Black Cormorant is the common Black Cormorant of Britain. It has a very extensive range over North America, Greenland, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

The little Black Cormorant is found in Australia, from the Moluccas to Borneo, and in New Zealand. Indeed, New Zealand is the stronghold of Cormorants, as it possesses many species.

The White-breasted and Pied Cormorants are so closely similar that possibly they will yet prove to be one species. Each is glistening white below, and jet black above. The bill is said to be longer in the Pied Cormorant, and the patch of naked skin near the eye is yellow, whereas, in the White-breasted Cormorant, this patch is said to be blackish or purplish. The Little Cormorant is also black and white. Its throat and upper chest are yellow.

Mr. Mattingley, C.M.Z.S., and others claim that the Cormorant, by feeding its young on yabbies, which, they say, prey on fish eggs, saves many more fish in the young stage than it ever eats in the adult stage, and hence it is really "a friend" of the anglers and fish. One thing is certain--fish were formerly much more abundant, and so were Cormorants. Anglers, collect evidence, and balance good with evil. Cormorants have a long, narrow bill, with a strongly-hooked tip. They are such expert fishers that in China they are much used to catch fish. Some will probably be surprised to learn that this custom formerly held in England, for the "Master of the Cormorants" was once one of the officers of the Royal household.

Some Cormorants nest in company in the Murray swamps, while others retire to a rocky island, such as Storehouse Island, east of Flinders Island, to breed.

These birds are expert swimmers and divers, so that one of the common names for them is "Diver," but the true Divers, as already pointed out, are Northern Hemisphere birds, and are placed in Family 25.

The Darter, or Snake Bird, is practically identical with the Water-Turkey of the United States. Sometimes, when alarmed, it submerges its body, leaving the head and neck exposed. It swims rapidly in this position. Four of these birds are known, and they are spread over America, Africa, Madagascar, Southern Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. The Darter was frequently seen on a recent trip to Enoggera Reservoir, the storage basin for Brisbane. The long, stiletto-like bill is used to impale its prey, while the flexible neck assists the spearing operation.

The next family contains the famous "Boobies" of sailors--the stupid Gannets, or Solan Geese, that were too stupid to escape from danger. Gould says our Gannet out-boobies the Booby, for he landed on a flat rock and secured five specimens by hand before the rest shuffled over the edge of the cliff and took flight. The Australian bird can scarcely be distinguished from its British cousin. It is common in Australian seas, where it can be seen diving for fish or flying swiftly round looking for prey. There is a large Gannet rookery on Cat Island, east of Flinders Island, where probably 4000 pairs of these fine birds nest each year. This was visited by a party of ornithologists in the Manawatu in 1908.

The famous Frigate-Bird we read of in the old school readers was twice taken in Port Phillip Bay. It is the best of flyers, as it can "breakfast on the Senegal (Africa), and dine on the Amazon." The two Frigate-Birds are common in Australian tropical seas. As already mentioned we met the Frigate Bird on Mast Head Island. Its wings are long, the forked tail also is long, but the legs and feet are very small. It is a creature of the air, and gets its living by compelling hard-working sea-birds to disgorge their prey.

The last bird in this varied Order is the Pelican. Our Australian Pelican is one of the largest of its tribe. Its enormous pouch distinguishes it at once. The ten Pelicans are practically world-wide in their distribution. On the trip of the Manawatu last year round the islands of Bass Strait, we visited the Pelicans' nesting-place on Penguin Island. This bird is practically identical with the "Pelican of the wilderness" mentioned in Holy Writ. The Pelican enjoys a reputation for maternal care of her offspring; indeed, she was said to feed the young with her own blood. This was probably due to the fact that one species of Pelican has a blood-red tip to the bill. Young Pelicans have not the long bill or the pouch. Thus this bird illustrates the truth of the statement that each animal in its development climbs its own ancestral tree, or, to say it in another form, each animal in its development recapitulates the life-history of the race. The Pelican has evidently descended from birds that possessed a short bill.

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ORDER XIV.--PELICANIFORMES.

F. 59. PHALACROCORACIDAE (5), CORMORANTS, 42 sp.--16(14)A., 6(2)O., 7(3)P., 6(5)E., 10(4)Nc., 9(6)Nl.

5 42

=142 Cormorant= (Black), Black Shag, Phalacrocorax carbo., A., T., N.Z., cos. exc. S. Am. [~142-146 Genus, Carbo.]

c. lagoons, sea 35 Glossy blackish-green; side of neck, face buffy white; white on thighs; f., sim. Fish.

=143 Little Black Cormorant=, Shag, P. sulcirostris, Borneo to N.G., A., T., N.Z. [~142-146 Genus, Carbo.]

c. lagoons, rivers 25

Glossy greenish-black, about eye and side of neck lighter; f., sim. Fish, frogs.

=144 White-breasted Cormorant=, Black and White Shag, Diver (e), P. gouldi, Louisiade Is., A., T. [~142-146 Genus, Carbo.]

Stat. c. shores, rivers 30

Upper greenish-black, under glistening-white; naked skin about eye purple; hooked bill 2in.; f., sim. Fish.

=145 Pied Cormorant=, Black and White Shag, Diver (e), P. hypoleucus, S.Q., N.S.W., V., S.A., W.A., N.W.A. [~142-146 Genus, Carbo.]

Stat. v.c. bays 30

Like 144, but bare space in front of eye orange, bill 2.7in.; f., sim. Fish.