Cormorant Bird: Identification, Diet, Habitat, Behavior and Species

Quick answer: A cormorant is a fish-eating aquatic bird in the cormorant and shag family. Cormorants typically have dark plumage, long necks, hooked bills, fully webbed feet, and low-sitting bodies on the water. They dive and swim underwater to catch fish, often rest or nest in groups, and are famous for standing with their wings held open after feeding.

Cormorant Bird Identification

Look for a long-bodied waterbird with a slender neck, a fairly long bill with a hooked tip, and a profile that rides low in the water. In flight, cormorants usually hold the neck extended and use steady wingbeats. Location is important because different cormorant species favor different coasts, lakes, rivers, estuaries, and reservoirs.

What Do Cormorants Eat?

Fish make up most of a cormorant’s diet. They pursue prey underwater, propelled mainly by their feet, then surface to swallow the catch. Depending on species and habitat, they may also take crustaceans and other aquatic prey.

Cormorant Behavior: Are Cormorants Solitary?

Cormorants sometimes forage alone, but they are often social birds. Many roost communally and breed in colonies on trees, cliffs, islands, or artificial structures. A single feeding bird can therefore appear solitary even though it later joins other cormorants to rest or nest.

Why Do Cormorants Spread Their Wings?

After diving, cormorants commonly stand with their wings open. The posture is associated with drying and maintaining the plumage after time in the water and is one of the easiest cormorant behaviors to recognize.

If the bird you are watching has a similar dark, long-necked shape but does not quite fit, see our birds similar to cormorants comparison guide.

Cormorants are a captivating group of waterbirds that have adapted remarkably well to aquatic life. Found on nearly every continent, these feathered fishers come in a surprising variety of shapes and sizes, each with its own ecological role.

In this article, we’ll take a deeper dive into the types of cormorants that are most well-known and widely observed. Whether you’re an amateur birder or a seasoned enthusiast, understanding these birds’ traits, behaviours, and habitats will make your next encounter even more meaningful.

1. Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)

The Double-crested Cormorant is the most common cormorant species in North America. Named for the subtle tufts or “crests” that appear on both sides of its head during the breeding season, it’s a highly adaptable bird often seen perched on docks, trees, and rocks near water.

• Physical Traits: Adults are matte black with a slight greenish sheen, a long neck, and a yellow-orange throat patch. Juveniles are browner with lighter bellies.
• Diet: Mainly fish, but also crabs, amphibians, and occasionally insects.
• Behaviour: Known for its social nature, it often nests in large colonies, sometimes alongside herons or pelicans.
• Nesting Habits: Builds bulky nests in trees, on cliffs, or even artificial structures like channel markers.
• Interesting Fact: It has a unique flight pattern, flying low over the water with a slow, steady wingbeat, often in V-shaped flocks.

2. Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

The Great Cormorant is one of the most widespread and robust cormorant species, found across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Atlantic coasts of North America. It’s revered in many cultures and has long been used in traditional fishing practices.

• Physical Traits: Large, heavy-bodied bird with glossy black plumage, a white chin patch, and striking green or blue eyes.
• Diet: Primarily fish, especially eels and flatfish, caught in shallow or deep water.
• Behaviour: Solitary hunters but social roosters; often seen sunbathing in iconic wing-spread poses.
• Nesting Habits: Nests in trees or on cliffs, usually in colonies; builds large stick nests reused for many years.
• Interesting Fact: In Japan and China, traditional fishermen once trained Great Cormorants using throat rings to prevent them from swallowing the fish they caught.

3. Brandt’s Cormorant (Urile penicillatus)

Brandt’s Cormorant is a Pacific Coast specialist, often spotted along the rocky shorelines and kelp forests of western North America. It is particularly striking during the breeding season.

• Physical Traits: Black body with a brilliant turquoise-blue throat pouch and fine white plumes on the head during breeding.
• Diet: Primarily small schooling fish such as anchovies, herring, and rockfish.
• Behaviour: Dives from the surface, often to moderate depths (30–40 metres), using powerful webbed feet for propulsion.
• Nesting Habits: Colonially nests on rocky islands and sea cliffs; nest sites are often reused annually.
• Interesting Fact: Males perform elaborate head movements and throat pouch displays to attract mates.

4. Pelagic Cormorant (Urile pelagicus)

The Pelagic Cormorant is the smallest North American cormorant, well-adapted to rugged marine environments. True to its name, it favours deeper offshore waters, often where land meets sea in dramatic fashion.

• Physical Traits: Slender build, iridescent black-green plumage, red facial skin, and white flanks during breeding.
• Diet: Mostly fish such as sculpins and sand lance, as well as small crustaceans.
• Behaviour: More solitary than other cormorants; often seen diving alone near cliffs or rocky islets.
• Nesting Habits: Builds nests in crevices on steep sea cliffs, sometimes barely above the surf.
• Interesting Fact: Its streamlined body and narrow bill are perfectly adapted for navigating crevices in underwater rocks while hunting.

5. Neotropic Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum)

The Neotropic Cormorant is a widespread species in warmer climates, often spotted inland around lakes, lagoons, and reservoirs. It’s smaller than most other cormorants and often confused with juveniles of other species.

• Physical Traits: Slender black body, long tail, and a small yellowish patch at the base of the bill. Adults often have a white fringe on the thigh during breeding.
• Diet: Primarily fish, supplemented by frogs and aquatic invertebrates.
• Behaviour: Frequently seen perched on branches, wires, or pilings in a distinctive upright posture.
• Nesting Habits: Builds nests in trees or shrubs near water, sometimes with herons or ibises.
• Interesting Fact: Unlike most cormorants, it often nests far from the coast and is highly adaptable to urban wetlands and man-made lakes.

6. Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos)

This small, bold-patterned species is widespread across Australasia and Southeast Asia. Its compact size and black-and-white plumage give it a distinctive look.

• Physical Traits: Black back and wings with a clean white face, chest, and underparts.
• Diet: Small fish, crustaceans, and insects.
• Behaviour: Forages alone or in small groups, usually on calm freshwater bodies.
• Nesting Habits: Often nests in large colonies with other waterbirds in trees overhanging water.
• Interesting Fact: Its small size allows it to manoeuvre easily in tight spaces and shallow water where larger species can’t hunt.

7. Indian Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis)

A distinctive species native to the Indian subcontinent, the Indian Cormorant stands out with its sharply defined facial features and blue-green eyes.

• Physical Traits: Dark brown-black body, peaked crown, and blue-green eyes; lacks the throat patch seen in many other species.
• Diet: Mostly fish, including catfish and carp, often hunted in groups.
• Behaviour: Forms large flocks and often engages in coordinated feeding behaviour, herding fish into tight areas.
• Nesting Habits: Builds nests in trees or on submerged branches; breeding colonies can be dense and noisy.
• Interesting Fact: Also called the Indian Shag, it’s a highly vocal species, especially during nesting season.

Why Are Cormorants Important?

Cormorants are key players in aquatic ecosystems. As apex fish predators, they help maintain healthy fish populations and keep aquatic food chains in balance. Their presence can also indicate good water quality. Though fisheries have sometimes targeted them, studies show that their impact on commercial fish stocks is often minimal compared to environmental and human factors.

How to Spot Cormorants in the Wild

Want to add these feathered divers to your bird list? Here’s what to keep in mind:

• Check Near Water: Look around coastal cliffs, lakes, rivers, wetlands, and harbours.
• Look for Drying Poses: Cormorants are often seen with wings spread, especially on sunny days.
• Observe Their Hunting: Watch for diving and resurfacing behaviour, often with a wriggling fish in the bill.
• Listen for Colonies: Some species are surprisingly vocal during breeding season, especially in large nesting colonies.

Cormorant Habitat and Range

Cormorants live around productive waters where they can dive for fish. Depending on the species, that can mean inland lakes and reservoirs, rivers, estuaries, harbors, rocky coastlines, and nearshore ocean waters. Double-crested Cormorants are especially adaptable in North America, while species such as Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants are closely associated with the Pacific coast.

Colonies, Roosting and Nesting

Cormorants are not strictly solitary. A bird may feed alone, but many species roost communally and breed in colonies. Nest sites vary by species and location and can include trees, rocky islands, cliffs, ground sites, and human-made structures. Double-crested Cormorants commonly form colonies near water and may travel away from the colony to feed.

Cormorant vs Anhinga vs Loon

Feature	Cormorant	Anhinga	Loon
Bill	Fairly long with a hooked tip	Long, straight and daggerlike	Straight, pointed and heavier
Neck and tail	Long neck; moderate tail	Very long neck and noticeably long tail	Thicker neck; short tail
Swimming posture	Body rides low in the water	Body may be mostly submerged, leaving the neck very exposed	Low, streamlined profile with the body carried farther back
Wing drying	Common	Common	Not a typical identification behavior
Best clue	Hooked bill plus low swimming posture	Spear-shaped bill and long, snakelike neck	Pointed bill, compact tail and distinctive loon body shape

For a longer visual comparison, see birds similar to cormorants.

Cormorant FAQs

Are cormorants solitary?

They can forage alone, but many cormorants are strongly social at roosts and nesting colonies. Social behavior varies by species, season, and feeding conditions.

Why do cormorants spread their wings?

They commonly hold their wings open after diving to help dry wet plumage. The posture is especially noticeable when birds rest on rocks, pilings, trees, docks, or other exposed perches.

Do cormorants fly?

Yes. Cormorants are strong fliers and regularly travel between feeding, roosting, and nesting areas. Many fly with the neck extended and use steady wingbeats.

What is the easiest way to identify a cormorant?

Look for a dark waterbird with a long neck, a hooked bill, large webbed feet, a low swimming posture, and frequent underwater dives. Range and habitat help narrow the bird to species.

Authoritative References

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Double-crested Cormorant identification
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Double-crested Cormorant life history
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology — similar-species comparison
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Anhinga identification

Final Thoughts

Cormorants may not always be the flashiest birds, but their silent grace, underwater athleticism, and fascinating behaviours make them unforgettable once you get to know them. From the Neotropic Cormorant’s tropical elegance to the Pelagic’s rugged determination, each species has its own story and beauty.

So grab your binoculars, head to your nearest body of water, and see which type of cormorant you can spot today. Happy birding!