Double-Crested Cormorant
Welcome to this week’s Wildlife of the Week!
Our species this week is the Double-crested Cormorant
Phalacrocorax auritus
These are large water birds with long tails and small heads on long, kinked necks. They are two to four foot long with a four foot wingspan. Adults are brown-black with a small patch of yellow on their face and an orange or yellowish bill. Immature birds are typically browner overall. In breeding season, the adults will develop a double crest of black feathers above their eyes.
Their preferred habitats are aquatic bodies big enough to support their mostly fish diet. They can usually be found near large waterways, on the refuge they gather in large numbers on the Tennessee River. They mainly eat fish which they catch by diving under water and chasing down while swimming. The tip of their bill is shaped like a hook, which is helpful in catching prey. The two main activities these birds engage in are fishing and resting.
They will spend more than half their day resting in trees. One of the reasons for this is that Cormorants produce less water-repellent oils than other waterfowl so they spend lots of time drying their feathers after hunting. They can sometimes be seen perching in trees with their wings outstretched, drying their feathers.
The cormorants in the photos were spotted in White Springs. (Photos by Tom Ress)
