Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carbo
Where is it found?
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Coastal, estuarine, rivers and lakes.
Diet and foraging method
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Dives for fish from the surface of the water.
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Key adaptations
Like other sea birds, Cormorants have special salt glands to help remove excess salt from their body as their seafood diet and seawater drinks contain vast quantities of salt.
Social organisation and mating system
Large colonies
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Monogamous pairs
Did you know that...?
Even though Cormorants spend much of their time in the water, their feathers aren't waterproof. This helps them dive deep down in pursuit of their prey but means that they have to spend a lot of time stood on rocks and branches with their wings outstretched to dry themselves out.
Taxonomy
Picture credits:
Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Liegender Phalacrocorax carbo" by 4028mdk09 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liegender_Phalacrocorax_carbo.JPG#/media/File:Liegender_Phalacrocorax_carbo.JPG
"Great cormorant" by Andreas Trepte - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_cormorant.jpg#/media/File:Great_cormorant.jpg
"Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) in flight" by Charlesjsharp - Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_cormorant_(Phalacrocorax_carbo)_in_flight.jpg#/media/File:Great_cormorant_(Phalacrocorax_carbo)_in_flight.jpg
"Phalacrocorax carbo02". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phalacrocorax_carbo02.jpg#/media/File:Phalacrocorax_carbo02.jpg
"Phalacrocorax carbo". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phalacrocorax_carbo.jpg#/media/File:Phalacrocorax_carbo.jpg
"1593 Birds 10" by Darjac - Scanned by Darjac. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1593_Birds_10.png#/media/File:1593_Birds_10.png
"Liegender Phalacrocorax carbo" by 4028mdk09 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liegender_Phalacrocorax_carbo.JPG#/media/File:Liegender_Phalacrocorax_carbo.JPG
"Great cormorant" by Andreas Trepte - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_cormorant.jpg#/media/File:Great_cormorant.jpg
"Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) in flight" by Charlesjsharp - Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_cormorant_(Phalacrocorax_carbo)_in_flight.jpg#/media/File:Great_cormorant_(Phalacrocorax_carbo)_in_flight.jpg
"Phalacrocorax carbo02". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phalacrocorax_carbo02.jpg#/media/File:Phalacrocorax_carbo02.jpg
"Phalacrocorax carbo". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phalacrocorax_carbo.jpg#/media/File:Phalacrocorax_carbo.jpg
"1593 Birds 10" by Darjac - Scanned by Darjac. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1593_Birds_10.png#/media/File:1593_Birds_10.png
