Double-crested Cormorant: how to recognise it
A bird of Europe and North America. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Ben Martin Mortimer · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Nannopterum auritum
- Family
- Cormorants and Shags
- Size
- About 80 cm
- Habitat
- Lakes, rivers and coasts
- Found in
- Europe and North America
The key marks
An orange-yellow throat patch with a bill hooked at the tip. Great Cormorant is larger, with a white chin patch.
Voice
Grunts at colonies.
Good to know
The 'double crest' of feathers on its head is rarely visible.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Great Cormorant. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in lakes, rivers and coasts. It is especially common in Canada, Florida and the United States. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.