Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carbo
They lack a fully functional uropygial gland for waterproofing, which reduces buoyancy and allows them to dive to depths of up to 30 meters.
- Scientific name
- Phalacrocorax carbo
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Suliformes › Phalacrocoracidae › Phalacrocorax
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- aquatic
- Habitat
- Coastal waters, estuaries, large inland lakes, and slow-moving rivers.
- Diet
- Strictly piscivorous, consuming a wide variety of fish including eels and flatfish.
- Range
- Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Eastern North America
- Size
- 70-102 cm length with a wingspan of 121-160 cm.
- Lifespan
- 15-25 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Persecution by commercial fisheries, entanglement in discarded fishing gear, and heavy metal bioaccumulation in waterways.
- Safe to approach?
- Generally harmless and wary of humans. Maintain a distance of at least 15 meters to avoid disturbing their essential wing-drying or nesting behaviors. If an injured bird is found, do not handle it without thick gloves as the hooked beak can cause deep lacerations; contact a local wildlife rehabilitator immediately.
The great cormorant ( Phalacrocorax carbo ), known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, the large cormorant in India and the black shag further south in New Zealand, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds. The genus name is Latinised Ancient Greek, from φαλακρός ( phalakros , "bald") and κόραξ ( korax , "raven"), and carbo is Latin for "charcoal".
Photo: Frank Vassen, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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