Double-Crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) lives in freshwater and coastal across North America. It feeds on fish and crustaceans. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Double-Crested Cormorant
- At up to 90 cm long and a wingspan reaching 123 cm, the double-crested cormorant rivals a small adult human in size, yet it weighs only 1.2-2.5 kg, making it a heavyweight for a bird of its length. This combination of a long, broad wing surface and relatively low body mass lets it glide low over water while still diving powerfully. Its bulk also means it needs to spread its wings after each plunge to dry the non-waterproof feathers, a ritual that can be seen for minutes on lakes and coasts.
- From the Aleutian Islands in Alaska all the way down to Florida and Mexico, the double-crested cormorant occupies a continent-spanning belt. It winters anywhere ice-free, reaching as far north as southern Alaska on the Pacific and southern New England on the Atlantic, while summer breeding pushes it into the interior of north-central North America. Such a massive north-south range lets the species exploit both cold-water fish in the north and warm-water prey in the south each year.
- The 1960s saw double-crested cormorant numbers tumble because of DDT. After DDT was banned, the species rebounded dramatically, with recent surveys noting a marked increase in colonies across the continent. This recovery allowed the birds to once again thrive and even expand into new aquaculture ponds that boost winter survival.
- When it darts beneath the surface, the double-crested cormorant can plunge to depths of 1.5-7.5 m and stay underwater for 30-70 seconds.
- In 1913 the San Martin Island colony in Baja California held the title of the largest North American cormorant gathering, a historic record that still illustrates the species' capacity for massive social roosts.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeNorth America
HabitatFreshwater and coastal
DietFish and crustaceans
About the Double-Crested Cormorant
In the misty dawn, the Double-Crested Cormorant emerges, its sleek, ebony form slicing through the water with effortless precision, as if gliding across the liquid expanse on an invisible thread. With each powerful stroke of its wings, it propels itself forward, a master of the aquatic realm, its piercing gaze scanning the depths below for the telltale flash of a fish. As it rises, a solitary figure, to perch upon a weathered rock or branch, its crested crown a proud declaration of its dominance over this shimmering, sun-kissed world.
Hear the Double-Crested Cormorant, and 4,400+ more
Real recorded sounds, 11 nature games and a free Daily 5, 1v1 quiz duels, conservation wins and a safe Kids mode. Free on Feravox.
Double-Crested Cormorant photographed on Feravox
