Ah! Finally an experimental protocol begins to emerge: since all cormorants
eat fish and some cormorants are wing-spreaders one needs to look at the
wettability of the feathers of DCCO, Pelagic, Brandt's, Reeds, etc.
feathers in museum specimens. Sounds like an assignment for Dennis, to be
reported either at the next WOS meeting or in the Journal of Irreproducible
Results.

In the meantime, although I am not a cormorant, I will conduct an
experiment on myself to test the alternative hypothesis. On alternate
sunny days, such as today, I will consume identical portions, by weight,
of either sushi (cold) or a (hot) pastrami sandwich. I will then observe
my inclination to lay spreadeagled (or spreadcormorant) on the grass facing
the sun to warm the sushi but not the pastrami. But wait! This experiment
suggests another observation for field naturalists to test the Warm Tummy
Hypothesis on cormorants themselves! Are the spread-winged cormorants
facing the sun, away from it or, especially on cloudy days, at random
orientations to it? Both experiments will have to await renewed funding of
NSF but in the meantime my colleague, Dr. Grant Swinger, and I are
preparing a budget proposal incorporating no capital equipment but an
appropriate amount for expendables, namely sushi and pastrami.

Herb Curl

h.curl at hazmat.noaa.gov "You may be only young once but you can be
Hazmat/NOAA, 7600 Sand Pt. Wy., NE immature the rest of your life."
Seattle, WA 98115-0070
(206) 526-6272