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MarinePlatform nestHuge · 3.0 kg
ID tip
The 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. The keel on the breastbone, where birds attach the large muscles needed for flight, is also significantly reduced. Like all cormorants, this bird has webbed feet and sturdy legs that propel it through the water as it seeks its prey of fish, small octopuses, and other little marine creatures.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Flightless Cormorant
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is July, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Flightless Cormorant
The map shades 1 country with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
About the Flightless Cormorant
The flightless cormorant, also known as the Galápagos cormorant, is a cormorant endemic to the Galápagos Islands, and an example of the highly unusual fauna there. It is unique in that it is the only known cormorant that has lost the ability to fly. It was placed in its own genus, Nannopterum, but was later placed with most of the other cormorants in the genus Phalacrocorax. A 2014 study supported reclassifying it and two other American cormorant species back into Nannopterum. The IOU followed this classification in 2021.
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.
Double-crested CormorantNannopterum auritumThe double-crested cormorant is a large waterbird with a stocky body, long neck, medium-sized tail, webbed feet, and a medium-sized hooked bill.
Side by side: Double-crested Cormorant vs Flightless Cormorant · Flightless Cormorant vs Neotropic Cormorant
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