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Project Noah Nature School
Phalacrocorax auritus
This is a large waterbird with a stocky body, long neck, webbed feet and hooked bill. Plumage is dark with a scaled appearance on the back. Its body length is about 70–90 cm (28–35 in) long, with a wingspan of between 114–123 cm (45–48 in).
Wetlands, rivers, swamps, and shorelines.
Spotted on May 16, 2011
Submitted on Apr 3, 2012
4 Comments
I like it, Emma. Those crests aren't always obvious, but you got it quite nicely.
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/102...
Gordon , I finally got a picture of it with its crest and finally can understand why it is called Double Crested!!
Mary, We have only double-crested cormorants in Minnesota, which makes the ID pretty easy here. Your bird is also a double-breasted cormorant, at least my guidebooks don't show any other cormorant species in that area. There is variation in shading among cormorants of different age and I suspect that your bird may simply be younger than the bird I photographed.
Stunning! Appears to be much darker in color than those found here in North Florida
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/103...
(or is the ID on the above incorrect?)