Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernFish

MarinePlatform nest1.8 kg

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum), photo 4 — Photo: (c) Peter Abrahamsen, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum), photo 5 — Photo: (c) Isaac Krone, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum), photo 6 — Photo: (c) Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum), photo 7 — Photo: (c) Kristin M. Tolle, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum), photo 8 — Photo: no rights reserved · CC0

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum), photo 9 — Photo: (c) Sandy Wolkenberg, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum), photo 10 — Photo: (c) Josiah Londerée, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

What the Double-crested Cormorant sounds like

Sonogram of the Double-crested Cormorant: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma · Call · Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma · Call · Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The double-crested cormorant is a large waterbird with a stocky body, long neck, medium-sized tail, webbed feet, and a medium-sized hooked bill. It has a body length of between 70 and 90 cm (28 and 35 in) long, with a wingspan of between 114 and 123 cm (45 and 48 in). Double-crested cormorants weigh between 1.2 and 2.5 kg (2.6 and 5.5 lb). Males and females do not display sexual dimorphism. This species has dark-colored plumage with bare supra-loreal skin and gular skin that is yellow or orange.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Double-crested Cormorant

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Double-crested Cormorant

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 19 countries with regular records, and 3 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

United States Canada Mexico Belize Cuba Bahamas Bermuda Cayman Islands St. Pierre & Miquelon Portugal Guatemala Puerto Rico Honduras Ireland U.S. Virgin Islands Jamaica Dominican Republic Turks & Caicos Islands Guadeloupe

Recorded as a rare visitor in United Kingdom, Colombia, Spain.

About the Double-crested Cormorant

The double-crested cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of water birds. It is found near rivers and lakes and in coastal areas and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico. Measuring 70–90 cm (28–35 in) in length, it is entirely black except for a bare patch of orange-yellow facial skin and some extra plumage that it exhibits in the breeding season when it grows a double crest in which black feathers are mingled with white. Five subspecies are recognized. It mainly eats fish and hunts by swimming and diving.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Neotropic CormorantNannopterum brasilianumThis bird is 64 cm (25 in) long with a 100 cm (39 in) wingspan.

Flightless CormorantNannopterum harrisiThe flightless cormorant is the largest extant member of its family, 89–100 cm (35–39.5 in) in length and weighing 2.5–5.0 kg (5.5–11.0 lb), and its wings are about one-third the size that would be required for a bird of its proportions to fly.

Side by side: Double-crested Cormorant vs Neotropic Cormorant · Double-crested Cormorant vs Flightless Cormorant

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