CORMORANTS, DARTERS, GANNETS, FRIGATE BIRDS, AND PELICANS.
Bill strong, either sharply pointed or hooked at tip; nostrils wanting or obsolete; neck moderate to very long; all the toes united by a web; chin naked and forming a more or less distensible pouch. Birds of large size, seagoing and fish-eating. The totipalmate feet and obsolete nostrils are the most obvious peculiarities of this order.20 Eggs bluish or white, with a white chalky covering.
Bill long and heavy; basal portion of culmen slightly concave, tip strongly decurved and hooked; neck rather long; wings ample but not reaching beyond base of tail, the latter rather long, its feathers graduated and stiff; plumage largely black, at times partly white.
Characters same as those given for the Family.
Ca-sí-li, Manila, also applied to the darter.
Calayan (McGregor); Luzon (McGregor); Ticao (McGregor). Europe, Africa, northern Asia, Greenland; eastern North America south to Georgia; Indian Peninsula to China and Australia.
Adult in breeding plumage.—Almost entirely black, with a slight oil-green gloss on neck and under parts; chin dirty white, this color continued backward and upward on each side of neck to back of eye, forming a border, 20 mm. wide, to the gular pouch and naked skin below eye; entire crown, nape, neck on all sides, and throat decorated with long, narrow, soft, white plumes which hide most of the short black feathers; crest glossy black, narrow and about 40 mm. long; each flank decorated with a large patch of long, soft, white feathers; upper back, scapulars, and wing-coverts dull bronze-brown, each feather widely bordered with dark bluish green or with glossy black; quills brownish black; secondaries washed with greenish; tail and its coverts black.
Grant gives the following colors and measurements: “Iris bright emerald-green; naked skin round eye greenish brown; below the eye and on gular sack lemon-yellow; bill grayish brown; dusky along culmen and yellowish white toward base; legs and feet blackish. Length, about 914; culmen, 58 to 81; wing, 317 to 356; tail, 173 to 183; tarsus, 58 to 72.”
Adult in non-breeding plumage.—Similar to the above but without the elongated feathers on head, neck, throat, and flanks.
“Young when first hatched are blind and covered with purplish black skin; in the course of a few days they acquire a thick covering of blackish down.
“Young in first plumage (September).—General color above dull brown, somewhat glossed on head, neck, and back with bluish green; feathers of back, scapulars, and wing-coverts with wide dark margins; throat, front of neck, breast and belly white; sides, flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts dark brownish black. As age advances the fore part of neck and chest become brown.
“Plumage of the second year (September).—Upper parts more like those of the adult, but the plumage is less brilliant and mixed here and there with feathers of the first plumage; feathers of the breast and belly are all widely tipped with brownish black, giving these parts a mottled appearance.
“Plumage of the third year (May).—Similar to the adult, but the color of upper parts is less brilliant, and the under parts are not of such a rich glossy black. Birds of this age (probably about 26 months old), though they do not breed, assume a partial breeding-plumage; the hair-like feathers on the head and neck being indicated, while the white flank patches are partially acquired.” (Grant.)
The cormorant appears to be somewhat rare in the Philippines but it will perhaps be found breeding in some of the extensive marsh-lands of central Luzon. A fully adult male in breeding plumage, taken in Tarlac Province, yields the following data: Iris bright sea-green; small spots of bright blue along edges of eyelids and below eye; bare skin below eye bright yellow with a slight orange tinge, this yellow extending to behind angle of mouth and onto base of lower mandible; entire gular pouch dark, almost blackish brown, closely covered with yellow spots; a small area just back of angle of gonys solid yellow; upper mandible blackish brown; lower mandible white with terminal third dusky brown; legs and nails black. Length, 850; wing, 345; tail, 180; culmen, 66; tarsus, 60; middle toe with claw, 85.
Bill long, slender, straight, and sharply pointed, cutting edges near tip with distinct serrations; head small; neck long and slender; tail long; scapular feathers lanceolate; a pair of inner secondaries and the innermost pair of rectrices with outer webs pliciform.
Characters same as those given for the Family.
Ca-sí-li, Manila, also used for the cormorant.
Luzon (Meyer, McGregor); Mindanao (Mearns, Clemens); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Schmacker, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor, Porter); Negros (Layard). Mesopotamia, Indian Peninsula, Indo-Chinese countries, Indo-Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Celebes.
“Adult male.—Chin, throat, and upper part of fore neck mottled with white; a narrow white line, about 125 mm. long, commencing above gape and continued down sides of neck; head and neck brown, darker and slightly glossed on the crown and along the back of the neck, paler down the middle of fore neck, each feather being margined with pale brown and giving the whole a finely scaled appearance; upper back brownish black, each feather narrowly margined with rufescent and streaked with white on the lateral parts; rest of back, rump, lower part of fore neck, and under parts black with an oil-green gloss; wing-coverts, scapulars, and innermost secondaries black, each with a long, silvery white streak down the middle; scapulars much elongated and pointed, the longest measuring about 230 mm.; innermost secondary transversely ribbed along the basal two-thirds of outer web; quills and tail black, the middle pair of tail-feathers strongly ribbed on outer web and outer pairs slightly rayed. Tail composed of twelve feathers. ‘Iris yellow; bill dusky on culmen, yellowish on sides and on lower mandible; legs black.’ (Godwin-Austen.) Length, about 890; culmen, from feathers on forehead, 89 to 91; wing, 330 to 355; tail, 218 to 230; tarsus, 43; outer toe with claw, 81.
“The fully adult female (if the sex of several specimens in the British Museum is correctly determined) appears to be perfectly similar in plumage to the male, the only difference being that the bill is decidedly shorter, 79 to 81 mm. In some females, however, which appear to be perfectly adult, the black bases of the fore neck and the chest are divided on either side from the back by a whitish buff band, as in immature birds.
“Immature birds.—General color as in the adult, but neck much lighter and of a pale brownish white, becoming white down the middle of the fore neck; black at base of fore neck and chest bordered on each side by a whitish buff band; streaks on the upper plumage of a more yellowish white, long pointed scapulars absent or half developed; quills and tail-feathers pointed and narrowly margined at the tips with pale whitish brown; ribs on innermost scapulars and tail-feathers but slightly indicated; back, rump, and upper tail-coverts brownish black.
“Young in down.—Head, neck, upper back, and under parts covered with white down, amongst which the plumage of the immature is more or less visible; quill- and tail-feathers half grown, pointed and narrowly margined at the extremity with pale brownish white; scapulars and wing-coverts much like those of the adult, but fringed externally with brown. Length, 724.” (Grant.)
“Exceedingly abundant about Lake Naujan in Mindoro, where it breeds. Rarer about fresh-water streams in the interior of that island. Not met with by us outside of Mindoro.
“Always swims with its body entirely immersed, and can remain under water an incredibly long time. Flies with difficulty when it first rises from water. Makes straight for some good roosting place, preferably a stump or log in the edge of the water, where it alights, turns its back to the sun, spreads its wings, and remains until thoroughly dry. When dry it flies rapidly, and may often be seen during the heat of the day soaring at a considerable height.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
“Very abundant on the upper waters of the Rio Grande de Cagayan in Isabela Province, and on the upper Agusan River and its lake system in Mindanao.” (Worcester.)
The Indian darter is fairly abundant along the Baco River in Mindoro and on the Cagayan River in the vicinity of Aparri, Luzon. Clemens collected specimens on Lake Lanao, Mindanao.
Bill stout and pointed, tapering gradually, the tip slightly curved but never hooked; a groove along each side of culmen; nostrils completely closed in adults; wings long and pointed, first primary longest; tail long and wedge shaped; tarsus short and stout; outer and middle toes nearly equal; claw of middle toe broad and pectinate.
Characters same as those given for the Family.
Mindanao (Steere Exp.). Oceania, southern Atlantic, Indian and Australian seas.
“Adult.—General color pure white; primaries, primary-coverts, outer webs and tips of secondaries, and secondary-coverts hoary gray, inclining to blackish on outermost quills in freshly molted birds, and to blackish in worn specimens; chin and upper part of throat naked, the feathers ending in a straight line across throat; tail composed of fourteen, or sometimes sixteen feathers. Iris gray; bill grayish blue, shading into pink or reddish toward the base; naked skin round eye blue; gular pouch dark slate or black; legs and feet vermilion, red or dark pink, almost magenta.
“Adult male.—Length, about 750; culmen from feathers on forehead, 89; wing, 394; tail, 10 to 28; tarsus, 35.
“Adult female.—Length, about 710; culmen from feathers on forehead, 81 to 88; wing, 373 to 375; tail, 208 to 210; tarsus, 35.
“Immature in first plumage.—Entire plumage above and below brown, lighter on breast and belly; primaries and secondaries and their coverts like those of the adult, but the inner webs of the secondaries black. Cutting edges of the mandible sometimes serrated, and the inner margin of the middle claw pectinate. Bill bluish pink, the latter predominating toward the base; naked skin round eye dark leaden hue; gular pouch flesh-colored.
“More adult specimens (perhaps in the plumage of the second year) head, neck, and under parts white; back, wings, and tail brown as in the immature; middle tail-feathers dark, brownish gray toward the base, shading into white toward the extremity.
“A still more adult bird has a large amount of white or partially white feathers mixed with the brown of the back and wings.
“I should imagine that the fully adult plumage is not attained until the third or perhaps the fourth year. This species may be recognized in all stages of plumage by the hoary gray appearance on the outer webs of the quills.” (Grant.)
Batan (McGregor); Calayan (McGregor); Didicas Rocks (Worcester); Dinagat (Everett); Luzon (McGregor); Mindanao (Cuming, Everett). Tropical Atlantic, Indian, Australian, and Pacific Oceans.
“Adult.—Head, neck, chest, entire upper parts, wings, and tail dark sooty brown; breast, rest of the under parts, axillars and under wing-coverts of the secondaries pure white. Tail composed of 14 feathers. Iris silvery white, white, or gray; bill whitish green or greenish blue, becoming flesh-colored or bluish at the base; naked skin on sides of face and gular pouch bluish, greenish, or yellowish; legs and feet pale green or lead-green, sometimes inclining to yellowish.
“Adult male.—Length, about 711; culmen from feathers on forehead, 100; wing, 389 to 396; tail, 190 to 195; tarsus, 46 to 48.
“Adult female.—Length, about 711; culmen from feathers on forehead, 100; wing, 389 to 396; tail, 190 to 195; tarsus, 46 to 48.
“Immature in first plumage.—Differs in having the head, neck, chest, entire upper parts, wings and tail brown, much lighter than in the adult; breast, belly, and under parts still paler brown, the feathers fringed with whitish brown, and generally sharply defined from the darker chest; axillars and secondary under wing-coverts mixed with smoky brown.
“More mature birds (? plumage of the second year).—Breast, belly, and under parts largely mixed with white, only the subterminal portion of each feather smoky brown.
“Still more mature bird (? plumage of the third year).—Head, neck, chest, and upper parts darker brown, and more like those of the adult; the breast and belly thickly mixed with the pure white feathers of the adult. These appear to be entirely attained by molt, many half-grown ones being concealed beneath the plumage.” (Grant.)
This gannet is quite abundant about the small islands north of Luzon and it probably finds nesting places on some of the more isolated rocks. Gannets lay their chalky white eggs in the sand or construct flat nests of sticks which they place in bushes or trees. One or two eggs are deposited in a nest.
Bill long and strongly hooked, both mandibles decurved at tip; lateral grooves deep; nostrils situated in the grooves and practically closed; a large naked and brightly colored gular pouch; wings pointed and extremely long; first primary longest; tail long and very deeply forked; feet absurdly small and weak for so large a bird; claw of middle toe pectinate; tarsus very short; plumage black with beautiful green and purple gloss.
Characters same as those given for the Family.
Sa-la-gun-ting′, Manila; lang-y-san′, Cagayancillo.
Cagayancillo (McGregor). Tropical and subtropical oceans of both hemispheres.
“Adult male.—General color black, becoming sooty below; feathers of head, upper back, and scapulars elongate and pointed; head with slight oil-green gloss; scapulars strongly glossed with bronze-green, this color changing to purple when specimen is held away from the light; a trace of green and purple gloss on breast and sides. Iris brown; bill black except the tip which is horn-gray; gular pouch dark crimson; feet blackish brown, flesh-colored below; webs bluish below; nails brown. Extent of wings, 1,830; length of bird, 914; wing, 600; tail, 410; depth of fork, 240; culmen from base, 105; tarsus, 20. Grant gives the following measurements: Length, about 1,016; culmen, from feathers on forehead, 91 to 112; wing, 521 to 655; tail, 355 to 376; tarsus, 18.”
“Adult female.—Feathers of head less elongate than in the male and with little or no gloss; upper back and scapulars slightly elongate and almost devoid of metallic gloss; back of head dark brown; fore neck, chest, breast, and sides of belly pure white; lesser and median wing-coverts brown, with paler margins and dark middles; rest of plumage like that of adult male. Iris dark brown; bill bluish horn-color; orbits and gular skin dark plumbeous, with a tinge of violet; feet carmine. Length, 582 to 678; tail, 373 to 483; tarsus, 25.
“Male and female immature.—Head, neck, upper part of chest, and middle of lower breast and belly, white; sides and upper breast dark sooty brown; rest of plumage like adult female. Iris dull dark blue; naked skin on throat lavender, bill horn-color, darker at base; feet pale pinkish blue.” (Grant.)
“The eggs of the great frigate bird measure from 59 to 72 mm. in length and from 42 to 51 in breadth.” (Oates.) The eggs are white and covered with more or less chalk-like substance.
The frigate pelicans are preëminently soaring birds of wonderful power. In these Islands they are rarely seen, and far more rarely killed, as they usually fly at great heights. During the nesting season they are fearless and may be observed near at hand. The larger species, at least, may nest on some of the more remote and rocky islands of this Archipelago.
Con-pi-sao′, Bantayan.
Bantayan (McGregor); Cagayancillo (McGregor); Luzon (Whitehead); Mindanao (Bourns & Worcester); Negros (Bourns & Worcester); Palawan (Whitehead). Tropical and subtropical Indian and Pacific Oceans.
“Adult male.—General color black, inclining to sooty black on under parts; feathers of head, upper back, and scapulars elongate and pointed, the former with a dull oil-green gloss, the latter dark metallic-green in freshly molted specimens, but becoming bronze or purple with wear; a large white patch on each flank. Tail composed of 12 feathers. Iris black; naked skin round eye and gular pouch red; bill gray; feet black. Length, about 760; culmen from feathers on forehead, 58 to 89; wing, 487 to 533; tail, 279 to 338; tarsus, 19.
“Adult female.—Head like that of the male, but feathers of the back and scapulars less elongate and of a brownish black color with scarcely a trace of metallic gloss; breast, sides of belly, flanks, and a wide collar round the neck white; lesser and median wing-coverts pale brown, with whitish margins and deep brown shaft-stripes; plumage otherwise like that of the male. Iris red; bill gray; bare skin round the eye and on the throat red, but not so light as that of the male; feet red. Length, about 760; culmen from feathers on forehead, 81 to 91; wing, 510 to 528; tail, 287 to 343; tarsus, 18.
“Male and female immature.—Head and neck white, shading into brown on the chest, breast, sides of belly, lower neck, and upper parts; middle of belly and flanks white. It will thus be seen that the colors of the above parts are just the reverse of those of the adult female, the white parts being dark and vice versa; rest of the plumage much like that of the adult female. Iris black; bill and feet whitish with a shade of blue.” (Grant.)
“Not infrequently seen singly or in small flocks, but very difficult to kill.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
Body large and heavy; upper mandible depressed, narrower and higher at base, broader and flattened toward the end, composed of a median bar, continuing the whole length of the bill and terminating in a strongly hooked nail, and of two lateral portions each separated from the median bar by a very narrow groove, in the basal part of which the small nostril opens; lower mandible thin, of two flexible arches supporting a large pouch of naked membrane.
Characters same as those given for the Family.
Pa-ga′-la, Manila.
Luzon (Sonnerat, McGregor, Worcester); Mindanao (Mearns). India and Ceylon, south to Burmah and Malay Peninsula, east to China and Hainan.
“Adult in breeding plumage.—(September to February). General color pure white; forehead, top of head, fairly long crest, cheeks, and neck covered with dense curly, very soft, pure white feathers, with their black bases more or less visible; hind neck, from crest to upper back, covered with soft grayish brown feathers, forming a mane; upper back, scapulars, and wing-coverts white, tinged, especially on the lesser wing-coverts, with cream-color; winglet, primaries, and primary-coverts brownish black, with the upper surface of the shafts dark; secondaries grayish brown, paler on the outer web and shading into brownish gray on innermost secondaries; an interscapular line down the middle of upper back; lower back, rump, flanks, under tail-coverts, axillars, and under wing-coverts vinaceous; rest of under parts pure white, chest and upper breast tinged with yellow; tail-feathers ashy, paler toward the tips and with dark shafts. Tail composed of 22 feathers. ‘Bill pinkish yellow, the lateral portions of the upper mandible with large bluish black spots; the nail and terminal halves of both mandibles orange-yellow; central portions of sides of lower mandible smeared with bluish black; pouch dull purple, blotched and spotted with bluish black; eyelids and skin round eye orange-yellow; skin in front of eye livid; legs and feet very dark brown; claws yellowish horn; iris stone-white, varying to pale yellow, clouded with brown.’ (Oates.) Length, 1,295 to 1,500; culmen, 320 to 368; wing, 558 to 610; tail, 203 to 421; tarsus, 84 to 96. The female is somewhat smaller than the male, but not conspicuously so.
“Adult in non-breeding plumage (March-August).—Plumage similar to that of the young after the first molt.
“Nestling.—Covered with white down; iris dark brown; bill pale plumbeous; legs china-white; pouch pale bluish white. The down on the wings soon turns to pale rufous; and the scapulars, when they appear, are brown, edged with ferruginous; the wing-coverts, on making their appearance, are furnished with a dense fringe of rufous down, which, however, soon falls off, leaving the feathers with rufous margins; the scapulars are developed very rapidly, and their ferruginous margins are diminished in extent as the bird grows; the down on the head and neck gives place to brownish feathers, and the crest and loose feathers of the mane on the hind neck soon make their appearance.
“The young bird, when fully fledged, retains its first feathers for at least one year, the only change being that the brown colors become darker and the rufous edgings abraded and consequently less marked. The impressed spots on the bill are not indicated till the sixth month, and even at the end of twelve months these spots are quite indistinct, compared with those of the adult bird. Toward the end of the first year a livid spot appears in front of the eyes and soon becomes clearly defined. The nail and the terminal third of the edges of the bill are yellow, legs and toes flesh-color.
“After the first molt, at about twelve months of age, the whole head and neck are covered with short, soft, downy feathers, the bases of which are black, the tips white; and the crest and mane are developed to the same extent as in the adult; the shoulders and scapulars are wood-brown; the lesser and median coverts to the secondaries wood-brown; the feathers all edged with paler; the greater coverts darker brown, edged with light brown; the coverts to the tertiaries grayish brown, edged with pale fulvous. The whole of the coverts narrow and sharp-pointed; the winglet, primaries, and their coverts dark brown; the secondaries brown, tinged with ashy on the outer webs; the whole back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and flanks white; the lower plumage whitish brown, each feather being white with the tip brownish, the feathers close, dense, and soft.
“In June of the third year, or when the bird is about thirty months old, the molt into adult breeding plumage is commenced and the change is entirely effected by October, except that in this first breeding season the wing-coverts never become entirely white as in the old birds, the feathers of these parts being a mixture of long sharp-pointed, white feathers, and comparatively blunt brown ones. Between June and October the pouch, which has hitherto been spotless, becomes blotched with livid as in the adults, the blotches extending to the face; the legs turn to dark brown; the iris becomes paler brown; and the spots on the bill become firm and well defined.
“Mr. E. W. Oates, having kept large numbers of P. philippensis in confinement, has had exceptional opportunities of studying the changes of plumage, and the above descriptions are the results of his observations, published in his Birds of British Burmah.” (Grant.)
“We were informed that pelicans were abundant on the Laguna de Bay at certain seasons, but when we were there none were to be found. A number of specimens are preserved in the Jesuit Museum at Manila, and several live birds were to be seen there on different occasions when we visited the Museum. Padre Sanchez kindly offered us specimens, and we intended to accept his offer at a later date, but unforeseen circumstances prevented our doing so.” (Bourns and Worcester MS.)
“Abundant about fish-breeding ponds in tide-water marshes of Bulacan in February, 1904. Also at Anao, Tarlac Province, in same month and year. Fairly common in the Candaba swamp, Luzon.” (Worcester.)