The largest of all cormorants, this bird is also known as the Great Cormorant and is found worldwide apart from South America and Antarctica.
Cormorant
What does a Cormorant look like?
Adult cormorants are a large sea bird with a long broad tail, black underside and dark black brown broad wings, with a green blue sheen. It has a low forehead and a long powerful thick yellow and black bill with a hook at its tip. The lower part of the face and chin are white morphing into a yellow and orange hue close to the bill. It has short black legs and its four toes are webbed across each foot. During the breeding season white patches appear on the thighs of both males and females. Juvenile cormorants have a white under belly with a dark brown back and wings.
![coromorant-wings Cormorant](https://images.birdfact.com/production/coromorant-wings.jpg?w=400&h=300&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391303&s=e37aa9afd3e9b643a0d129658d846f53 400w, https://images.birdfact.com/production/coromorant-wings.jpg?w=800&h=600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391303&s=d774a29e3f736828584891d374d1b7d5 800w, https://images.birdfact.com/production/coromorant-wings.jpg?w=1200&h=900&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391303&s=883fd9653bc33b28c5aa6e4523bac89e 1200w)
![cormorant-fishing Cormorant](https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-fishing.jpg?w=400&h=300&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391301&s=19080f9da45fff8ea8938fef497b7263 400w, https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-fishing.jpg?w=800&h=600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391301&s=1f6cc5adb6d2f21707c89e3d5528db0c 800w, https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-fishing.jpg?w=1200&h=900&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391301&s=4f732e9638807c082062486d972f542b 1200w)
What does a Cormorant eat?
Cormorants feed almost entirely on fish. They will typically, individually consume up to half a kilo of fish a day. In fresh water their diets may be more varied. Cormorants ‘duck dive’ from the water’s surface and in addition to their webbed feet, use their short wings to propel themselves downwards to an average depth of 10 metres and catch fish using the sharp hook at the end of their beak.
For a full guide on what cormorants eat, check out this article.
![cormorant-fishing-1 Cormorant](https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-fishing-1.jpg?w=400&h=300&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391300&s=1d2674a9bcb24745efbc9872c6d64326 400w, https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-fishing-1.jpg?w=800&h=600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391300&s=36ee667e3baee0dffc7531e04adcfcc2 800w, https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-fishing-1.jpg?w=1200&h=900&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391300&s=51d4e54ae8308edd27dd87b0c13b07f2 1200w)
Where can I see Cormorants?
Cormorants generally inhabit coastal areas, rocky shores, estuaries and wetlands but are increasingly seen around freshwater lakes, reservoirs and occasionally rivers throughout the UK. They are, however, less likely to be found inland in central and northern Scotland. Coastal habitats, in particular, attract cormorants often seen gathering in flocks and nesting in large colonies. They are a social bird and spend a lot of time on the water with their long slim body almost submerged and their necks straight with their heads slightly uptilted.
![cormorant-colony Cormorant](https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-colony.jpg?w=400&h=300&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391299&s=52b12152fd4b9d8cc2d1e496ea3fb9ad 400w, https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-colony.jpg?w=800&h=600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391299&s=e7fde6cdf332221c6ad86f804816c085 800w, https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-colony.jpg?w=1200&h=900&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391299&s=ce04b95cb58e840fc26b4f1fb76ed1c3 1200w)
Signs and Spotting tips
Sometimes easily mistaken for a common shag, cormorants are larger and with a gently sloping forehead they differ from the shag who can be identified with its steep forehead and feathered crest. Whilst cormorants are gregarious and will move inland and occupy freshwater lakes, it is unlikely that you will see shags, who are solitary birds, away from the coast. Like the shag though, the cormorant can often be seen perching or standing with its wings half open drying them following a period of diving and feeding.
![cormorant-in-flight Cormorant](https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-in-flight.jpg?w=400&h=300&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391301&s=1480d26c30199cd11a93bf23dc1c5b1b 400w, https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-in-flight.jpg?w=800&h=600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391301&s=0041db01f424afefa3885a1a06ce119b 800w, https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-in-flight.jpg?w=1200&h=900&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391301&s=6a140886cc6c03ac02ce86887b61d49f 1200w)
How do Cormorants breed?
Cliff ledges, small caves and even trees can be the base upon which they construct their often bulky, large nests. Generally constructed with seaweed, twigs, guano and reeds the female lays one clutch of 3 – 4 pale blue eggs between April to May which both adults take turns to incubate. The breeding season for cormorants inhabiting inland areas tends to be extended to those on the coast.
![cormorant-close Cormorant](https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-close.jpg?w=400&h=300&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391298&s=1a14c6bfdaf4804956d967d6e96d9b1f 400w, https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-close.jpg?w=800&h=600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391298&s=44c3d90bacc03e0281967024d041eedd 800w, https://images.birdfact.com/production/cormorant-close.jpg?w=1200&h=900&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&dm=1615391298&s=785d1b214648496ccb3bfc0d8149e9da 1200w)
How long do Cormorants live for?
The typical lifespan for a greater cormorant is eleven years although ages of greater than twenty years have been recorded on ringed birds.
What is a group of Cormorants called?
The collective nouns to describe a group of cormorants are:
- a flight of cormorants
- a gulp of cormorants
- a “lett fli” of cormorants
- a paddling of cormorants
- a rookery of cormorants
- a swim of cormorants