Cormorant (Little pied)

Little Pied Cormorant 

Microcarbomelanoleucos

Photographed at Toronto Zoo, Toronto, Canada  Sep 2011

The Little Pied Cormorant is entirely black above and white below. The face is dusky and, in adult birds, the white of the underside extends to above the eye. Immature birds resemble the adults except there is no white above the eye.

Little Pied Cormorants breed either in colonies or, less commonly, in single pairs. The nest is a flat platform of sticks, lined with green leaves and is usually placed in a tree. Both adults share in egg incubation and care of the young.

Cormorants are equally at home in freshwater and saltwater environments and can also be found in inland wetland environments.  Cormorants have a special membrane which covers their eyes and helps them see underwater.

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