Great cormorant
| Great cormorant | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom Information | |
| Domain | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Subkingdom | Bilateria |
| Branch | Deuterostomia |
| Phylum Information | |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Sub-phylum | Vertebrata |
| Infraphylum | Gnathostomata |
| Class Information | |
| Superclass | Tetrapoda |
| Class | Aves |
| Sub-class | Neornithes |
| Order Information | |
| Order | Suliformes |
| Family Information | |
| Family | Phalacrocoracidae |
| Genus Information | |
| Genus | Phalacrocorax |
| Species Information | |
| Species | P. carbo |
| Population statistics | |
| Population | 2,100,000+ (2015 est.)[1] |
| Conservation status | Least concern[2] |
The great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is a species of seabird of the family Phalacrocoracidae, and found along shorelines nearly world-wide.
Description
The great cormorant is large, with a body length of 28 to 40 inches, a wingspan of 48 to 63 inches, and weigh from 3.3 to 12 pounds. Males are slightly larger than females, and overall size varies among the subspecies, with the largest examples in the Northern Hemisphere. Adult plumage is usually entirely black with yellow facial skin around the eyes and base of the bill. The bill is cream-white or light gray in color, and wider in males than females. The eyes are green and the webbed feet are black. During the breeding season, a white patch appears at the top of each thigh. Other whitish or grayish markings, such as on the nape of the neck or the breast, distinguish the various subspecies. Juveniles have a lighter plumage, with brownish back and white belly and breast.
Cormorants are mostly mute when not on the breeding grounds. The calls in the colonies are deep and throaty, with the most common call a repetitious "chroho-chroho-chroho"; the calls to mating may sound like "kra-orrr"[3].
Subspecies
- Phalacrocorax carbo carbo; northern Europe and northern North America; winters to coastline of Gulf of Mexico, northwest Africa
- Phalacrocorax carbo hanedae; Japan: Honshu Island
- Phalacrocorax carbo novaehollandiae; Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and Chatham Islands
- Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis; north-central Europe to southern China; winters to southeast Asia and Indonesia
Diet
The great cormorant feeds primarily on small to medium-sized fish, either in fresh or salt water. Whitefish, shad, herring, grayling, and similarly-sized fish are prey items; rarely taken are small rodents along the shorelines, ducklings, crabs, and large shrimp. Cormorants opportunistically hunt fish that are abundant and most readily available; the composition of the food therefore varies greatly depending on local conditions and season.
