Select a category
Help
the zoo
en
live
Great Cormorant
Great Cormorant
Bird-angler, flies and dives perfectly
Type: Chordates
Class: Birds
Order: Pelecanoididae
Family: Cormorants
Genus: Cormorants
Species: Great cormorant
General Settings
  • Cormorants are widely distributed in many regions of the eastern hemisphere. In the western hemisphere, they nest only in the south of Greenland. They inhabit the coastal territories of Europe, North America, the Far East, Southeast Asia, Australia and Ne
  • Body length-up to 100 cm. The wingspan is up to160 cm.
  • Weight-about 3 kg.
  • The diet of cormorants includes small or medium-sized fish: capelin, anchovy, roach, sprat, herring, sardine. As well as shellfish, crayfish, frogs, aquatic insects, sometimes even snakes.
  • Life expectancy – up to 20 years or more.

Great cormorant is a large angler bird that dives excellently.


Social behavior


Depending on the place of residence, they can lead both a sedentary lifestyle and a migratory one. It all depends on the weather and climatic features of the occupied territory. They are collective animals. They live and nest in colonies of several tens to thousands of pairs.


Reproduction


The nest is built from branches and grass on trees, reed beds or on coastal rocks, on islands they can nest directly on the ground. Clutch of 4-6 eggs. The incubation period lasts 24-31 days, the eggs are laid alternately for several days, after hatching, weak and helpless chicks are born, in dire need of parental care.


Species and people


Fishermen fish farmers do not like the cormorant. Although its harm is not proven. Nevertheless, limited shooting is allowed in some places. Cormorants have been trained for a long time in China and Japan for fishing. The birds were put a ring around their necks and tied with a rope, and then released into the sea. Cormorants dived and brought fish to the owner. Thanks to the ring, the bird could not swallow the fish. Now this method is not used, but it is still shown to tourists.


Interesting Facts


The cormorant bird is known for its fishing prowess. In search of food, they are able to dive to a depth of 15 meters and stay under water for about 2 minutes. The eyes of these birds have a transparent blinking membrane, which makes them excellent divers.

For a day, a bird can eat almost half a kilogram of fish, usually 200-300 grams is enough to satisfy it.

Current status in wildlife
  • Not
    evaluated
    NE
  • Data
    deficient
    DD
  • Data
    deficient
    lc
  • near
    threatened
    NT
  • vulnerable
    vu
  • endangered
    en
  • critically
    endangered
    cr
  • extinct
    in the wild
    ew
  • Extinct
    ex
Zoo map