Great cormorant

 Great cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

TAXONOMY

Pelecanus carbo Linnaeus, 1758, Europe. Six subspecies.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Black cormorant, white-breasted cormorant; French: Grand Cormoran; German: Kormoran; Spanish: Cormorلn

Grande.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

This largest species of cormorant has a body length of about 37 in (93 cm), with a pale-yellow bill, pale yellow cheek pouch

bordered by a white throat, glossy blackish plumage, black legs and feet, and males somewhat larger than females (males: 5.1

lb (2.3 kg); females: 4.2 lb (1.9 kg).

DISTRIBUTION

A very widespread species in temperate regions of the world, occurring locally in the Northwest Atlantic of North America,

more widely through Eurasia, and in parts of Southeast Asia, Africa, and Australia. They generally winter near their breeding

grounds.

HABITAT

Nests on sea cliffs feed in coastal waters.

BEHAVIOR

A highly social species that breed in colonies and aggregates in flocks. Like all cormorants, it catches fish by underwater pursuit.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Feeds on small fish, crustaceans, and squid.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Normally, Great cormorant lays 3 to 4 eggs in a crude stick-nest on a cliff ledge. However, both sexes sharing the incubation for the 26 to 32 days and rearing of the chicks.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened. Rather abundant over much of its range.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Not of great importance to humans over most of the range; however, in Japan, this is one of two species (the other is the Japanese cormorant, Phalacrocorax capillatus) trained by human fishers to help them catch fish.