Cormorant, << KAWR muhr uhnt, >> is any of a number of large, web-footed birds that catch fish by diving underwater. Cormorants occur throughout the world. They live mostly along seacoasts, but also along large rivers and lakes. Cormorants are related to pelicans. Large cormorant species (kinds) measure more than 30 inches (76 centimeters) long. Cormorants have long, powerful, hooked bills. Most species are strong fliers, and all are excellent swimmers.
A common cormorant of North America, the double-crested cormorant, perches in trees, on rocks, and on the ledges of sea cliffs. Hundreds of these birds live around the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. With their feathered bodies, long necks, and flat heads, they look like rows of bottles sitting on the cliffs. The double-crested cormorant has greenish-black, bronze-tinted feathers. During the nesting season, it has a crest of curved white feathers behind each eye. It has an orange throat. The great cormorant is larger than the double-crested cormorant and has white feathers bordering the throat. It lives along the Atlantic Coast of North America and coastal areas throughout Europe.
Loading the player...Double-crested cormorant
Cormorants look for fish while swimming on the water’s surface. When they see a fish, the birds dive below the surface and swim underwater with powerful kicks of their webbed feet. Cormorants usually return to the surface to eat their catch.
See also Pelican.
