Stanley Park Ecology Society - Programs- Urban Wildlife - Double-crested Cormorant

Species

Birds

Mammals

A double-crested cormorant

Double-crested cormorants are a great clean-up crew!
Photo by George Jameson

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

Did You Know?

Unlike the pelagic cormorant, the double-crested cormorant has a distinctive orange gular region (upper part of throat)
Double-crested cormorants nests are often exposed to direct sun
Their nests are made out of bulky materials and they will often include junk that they find on the coast such as rope, fishnet, etc.

Characteristics:

Double-crested cormorants are black birds with a metallic gloss, with a long hooked beak, bare orange skin around their face, brilliant turquoise eyes

Habitat:

The Double-crested cormorants are found widely distributed all over North America in any kind of aquatic habitat (ponds, lakes, rivers, lagoons, etc.)
They mainly breed along the coasts, the Great Lakes and other inland bodies of water

Diet

The Double-crested cormorant’s diet consists mainly of fish, but they also eat other aquatic animals, insects, and amphibians

Double-crested cormorant chicks

Feed us!

Breeding:

Double-crested cormorants nest in colonies in trees, on the ground, or in the cliffs
Both parents incubate the eggs for one month
The chicks fledge after 35-40 days (have grown the feathers for flight)

A fish stock, potential restaurant for coromorants!

Double-crested cormorants are an annoyance to fish farmers because they eat the fish!

Conservation:

In the 1900’s the bird population was reduced by human persecution and pesticide use; however the population regained its numbers in the 1970’s (some areas were even exploding with birds)
These birds have been blamed for the cause of the collapse of fisheries in some areas

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