The great cormorant is distributed throughout the world. This is a bird with a discreet appearance, a long neck gives the cormorant the appearance of a reptile. She is often seen in a pose with raised wings. Cormorant is a fishing bird, and it dries its wings after water hunting.
Where do great cormorants live
The birds are found throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and northeastern coastal North America in open marine environments and inland waters. They live near sandy or rocky shores and estuaries, rarely live far from the coast. This species breeds on rocks and offshore islands, among boulders and buildings. Land nesting birds build nests in trees, bushes, reeds, and even on bare ground.
Habits and lifestyle
Great cormorants are active during daylight hours, leave their nests for feeding early in the morning and return to the nest in about an hour, parents with chicks look for food longer. Most of the day is spent resting and feeding near nesting sites or perches.
Great cormorants are not aggressive towards each other, with the exception of nesting places where they show territorial behavior. There is a hierarchy and high-ranking birds dominate over highly primative ones. Outside the breeding season, cormorants gather in groups of mixed age.
During the breeding season, single individuals live outside the nesting colonies. Cormorants are sedentary and migratory. In some areas, large groups of birds remain in breeding areas and do not migrate south.
Interesting facts about great cormorants
- “Cormorant” in Latin “corvus marinus”, which means “sea crow”.
- Great cormorants swallow small pebbles to make it easier to dive, then they regurgitate them after feeding.
- On land, cormorants are clumsy, but they are fast and agile when swimming. In a relaxed state, they lean on their paws, the neck is bent in the shape of the letter S.
- Great cormorants spend a lot of time drying and cleaning their feathers, sometimes 30 minutes. They dry their feathers in a certain position, spreading their wings while sitting on a branch, which also helps digestion.
- These birds incubate their eggs on their large webbed feet. The eggs are placed on top of the webbed toes, where the masonry is heated in the area between the paws and the body.
- Birds eat 400 to 700 grams of fish per day.
- Great cormorants are considered by fishermen as competitors, but in some places they are used in fishing. A collar leash is attached to the neck, which prevents cormorants from swallowing prey, and they cannot fly away from the boat to freestyle fishing.
