Details
Phalacrocorax carbo
The great cormorant is a large dark waterbird found across many of the world's waters. It dives after fish and often stands with wings spread to dry.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It uses lakes, rivers, estuaries, coasts, and harbors, in both fresh and marine waters. Breeding colonies form in trees, on rocks, or on human structures near water.
Length is 70-102 cm and weight 1.5-3.5 kg. It has a dark body, long neck, hooked bill, and webbed feet; breeding birds may show white on the face or thigh.
Diurnal and colonial, it propels itself underwater with its feet. After feeding it commonly rests on a perch with wings held open.
A carnivore, it feeds mainly on fish, with some shrimp, crabs, and other aquatic animals. It pursues prey underwater and surfaces with it held in the hooked bill.
Colonies build nests from sticks, seaweed, or other material. Both adults incubate and feed chicks with partly digested fish.
It is listed as Least Concern. In some regions, conflicts arise over fisheries or tree damage at large colonies.
