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Phalacrocoracidae
This appears to be a young cormorant due to the number of white feathers around its neck and head.
This one had been fishing just off the seafront in Izmir, Turkey.
Spotted on Jan 22, 2011
Submitted on Mar 22, 2011
5 Comments
Cool.... the bill fits!
I have just found reference to a Continental Cormorant which has silvery white head and neck plumes, which seems to fit the bill, (oh dear, no pun intended, sorry).
It could be a difference between New World and old world cormorants?
Thank you for your comment, I will have to look into it further, maybe it is not immature as I first thought.
Checked it out in the on Cornell's (lab of ornithology) website http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Doubl...
They describe the immature cormorants on the East coast of USA
"Upper breast and throat pale. Chest variable from nearly whitish to dusky. Usually chest pale and belly dark, but may be uniform pale below." So they are a different coloration when they are immature, but not with this beautiful white head. Unfortunately they only show "new world" cormorants so couldn't check those in Turkey.