doublecrested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

 

IDENTIFICATION

• Length: 27 inches Wingspan: 50 inches

• Sexes similar

• Large, dark waterbird with a long, hooked bill and long tail

• Long, thin neck

• Gular area squared off and orange, extending straight down across            throat

• Orange lores

• Often perches with wings spread to dry them

Adult:

• Entirely black plumage

• Small white plumes on head during breeding season

Immature:

• Pale throat and chest darkening below to dark belly; some individuals           are entirely pale underneath

• Brownish back and upperwings

Similar species:

Loons are similar on the water, but lack hooked bills. Anhinga has a long,
pointed bill and a much longer tail. All adult cormorant species in the U.S.
are separable by the shape and color of the gular areas. No other species
has orange lores and gular region that does not form a point at the gape.
Neotropical cormorant can be similar but is slimmer and longer-tailed,
and has a differently shaped gular area. Great cormorant is also similar
but has a yellowish, pointed gular area surrounded with white as an adult.
Immatures are dark-chested and pale bellied, unlike double-crested.

 

LIFE HISTORY

Migration Status:N/A
Breeding Habitat:Wetland-open water
Nest Location:N/A
Nest Type:N/A
Clutch Size:3-4
Length of Incubation: 25-29 days
Days to Fledge:35-42
Number of Broods:1
Diet: Mostly fish; lesser quantities of aquatic invertebrates

 

SKY MEADOWS DISTRIBUTION/SEASONAL OCCURRENCE

 

Relative abundance and seasonal occurrence are indicated in red below.

 

Relative abundance
     C - Common: Likely to be present in good numbers in appropriate habitat and season.
     U - Uncommon: May be present in appropriate habitat and season, often in low
            numbers.
     O - Occassional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times per season,
            sometimes low numbers.
     R - Rare: May not be recorded every year.
     Acc - Accidental: Recorded once or twice, may not be expected again for a long time.

 

Seasonal Occurrence
      Sp - Spring: March, April, May R
      Su - Summer: June, July, August R
      Fall: September, October, November R

      Winter: December, January, February

 

 

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