madeira/Pterodroma feae (R) Cory's shearwater, Calonectris diomedea (R*) Sooty shearwater, Ardenna griseus (R*) Great shearwater, Ardenna gravis (R*) Manx shearwater, Puffinus puffinus (R*) Audubon's shearwater, Puffinus lherminieri (R*) Storks Order: CiconiiformesFamily: Ciconiidae Storks are large, heavy, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long stout bills and wide wingspans. They lack the powder down that other wading birds such as herons, spoonbills and ibises use to clean off fish slime. Storks lack a pharynx and are mute. One species has been recorded in Maryland. Wood stork, Mycteria americana (R) Frigatebirds Order: SuliformesFamily: Fregatidae Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black, or black-and-white, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have colored inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week. One species has been recorded in Maryland. Magnificent frigatebird, Fregata magnificens (R) Boobies and gannets Order: SuliformesFamily: Sulidae The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish. Three species have been recorded in Maryland. Masked booby, Sula dactylatra (R) Brown booby, Sula leucogaster (R) Northern gannet, Morus bassanus (R*) Anhingas Order: SuliformesFamily: Anhingidae Darters and anhingas are cormorant-like water birds with long necks and long, straight beaks. They are fish eaters which often swim with only their neck above the water. One species has been recorded in Maryland. Anhinga, Anhinga anhinga Cormorants and shags Order: SuliformesFamily: Phalacrocoracidae Cormorants are medium-to-large aquatic birds, usually with mainly dark plumage and areas of colored skin on the face. The bill is long, thin, and sharply hooked. Their feet are four-toed and webbed. Three species have been recorded in Maryland. Great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo (R*) Double-crested cormorant, Nannopterum auritum Neotropic cormorant, Nannopterum brasilianum (R) Pelicans Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Pelecanidae Pelicans are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. Like other birds in the order Pelecaniformes, they have four webbed toes. Two species have been recorded in Maryland. American white pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis (R*) Herons, egrets, and bitterns Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Ardeidae The family Ardeidae contains the herons, egrets, and bitterns. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive. Members of Ardeidae fly