Hi Tweeters,

Just a quick ID question. While at Cape Flattery (extreme NW tip of
Olympic Peninsula) last weekend, we watched what appeared to be closest
to a pelagic cormorant: characteristic head/beak though somewhat smaller
and more slender than other cormorants, with symmetric white patches on
the upper body in back (sorry for murdering the appropriate
ornithological anatomic landmarks--I am a rather low-rent birder). It
generally looked like the pic in the NGS guide, and distribution apears
correct, but I have a few queries: rather than being a dullish green
color throughout, this bird had a greenish/black sheen with definite
greenish-blue areas on the crown and neck (that stood out against its
darker background). Is this a seasonal plumage variant? Also, while I
have seen the usual assortment of coastal birds on the Peninsula and in
the San Juans, I have never seen this bird: is it uncommon, or is it more
a function of what its name implies (that I would be more likely to see
it the farther seaward I was).

Any thoughts are most welcome, on Tweeters or private email. Thanks!

Jeanne Marrazzo
<jmm2 at u.washington.edu>