Double-crested Cormorant

The Double-crested Cormorant is the most widespread and familiar cormorant in North America, found on both freshwater and coastal waters across the continent. It is well known for its habit of perching with wings outstretched to dry after diving.

Appearance

Adults are almost entirely glossy black with a bronzy sheen, an orange-yellow facial skin and throat pouch, and a hooked bill. During the breeding season, adults develop small tufts of feathers, or "crests," on either side of the head, which are often dark or whitish depending on the population, and give the species its name.

Key field marks

• Orange-yellow throat patch and facial skin, kinked in an angular shape at the rear
• All-black body plumage with a bronzy or greenish sheen
• Bill with a distinct hook at the tip
• Habit of perching with wings spread wide to dry

Similar species

Great Cormorant is larger and bulkier with a white patch on the throat and a more extensive pale area at the base of the bill; Double-crested has the orange skin extending in a pointed shape behind the eye. Neotropic Cormorant is smaller and slimmer with a thinner bill and a white border to the facial skin in breeding plumage, and generally occurs farther south.

Habitat and range

Double-crested Cormorants are found on a wide variety of freshwater and marine waters across North America, including lakes, rivers, reservoirs, estuaries, and coastal bays, breeding from Alaska and Canada south through much of the United States and into Mexico.

Migration

Northern and interior breeding populations are migratory, moving south to coastal and southern wintering areas when inland waters freeze, while populations in milder coastal regions may be resident year-round. The species has expanded significantly in numbers and range in recent decades after earlier declines from pesticide contamination.

Behavior

Double-crested Cormorants forage by diving from the water surface and pursuing fish underwater using their feet for propulsion. Because their feathers are not fully waterproof, they must periodically perch with wings spread to dry, a characteristic and easily recognized posture.

Voice

Adults are mostly silent away from the colony, though low guttural grunts and croaks may be given during breeding interactions.

Nesting and breeding

They nest colonially, often in trees, on cliffs, or on the ground on islands, building a stick nest that may be reused and added to over multiple seasons. Typically three to four eggs are laid, with both parents sharing incubation and chick-rearing duties.