Cormorant (white Breasted)

White Breasted Cormorant

Phalacrocoraxcarbolucidus

Photographed at Toronto Zoo, Toronto Canada Sep 2011

Largest African Cormorant 85-95 cm, the White-breasted Cormorant is the only form of the Great Cormorant found in sub-Saharan Africa. A fish and frog eater with a white throat and breast - yellow at base of throat. The white-breasted cormorant is able to swallow larger than the normal diameter of its neck because a unique musculature of the neck allows it to stretch out. 

The throat, or gular pouch, is also used as a signaling device and as a means for cooling the body. By panting and fluttering the gular pouch, blood passing through the rich concentration of capillaries is rapidly cooled.

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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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Cormorant (Dbl Crested)

Double Crested Cormorant 

(Phalacrocoraxauritus)

Photographed on Naples, Florida  Apr 2008
Etobicoke Creek, Toronto Canada  June 2012

Double-crested cormorants are usually found in flocks, and are one of only two species that prefer fresh water. In the mid-twentieth century, populations were seriously reduced due to DDT use, but have begun to bounce back.

Cormorants feed principally on slow moving or schooling species of fish. Their increase in population has made them a major predator in the northern areas causing a reduction of young fish in the smaller lakes.

Can be found on rock islands and gather in colonies. It is common to see them with their wings spread out to let the sun dry their un-oiled wings

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