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Bird name:

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carboOrder: PELECANIFORMES Family: Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae)
Codes: Common Name: GRCO Scientific Name: PHACAR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174715

Breeding Location:

Seashore, rocky or sandy, Rocky cliffs



Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial



Breeding Population:



Egg Color:

Pale blue or green, often nest stained



Number of Eggs:

3 - 5



Incubation Days:

28 - 31



Egg Incubator:

Both sexes



Nest Material:

Twigs, seaweed, grasses, moss and bits of refuse



Migration:

Migratory



Splitbar

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General

Great Cormorant: Largest North American comorant is black with bright yellow throat pouch bordered with white feathers. Females are similar, juveniles have brown upperparts and white belly.

Range and Habitat

Great Cormorant: Native of the Americas and Greenland. Prefers rocky coasts with sheltered inshore waters.

Breeding and Nesting

Great Cormorant: Three to five pale blue or green eggs incubated by both sexes 28 to 31 days in a nest of twigs, seaweed, and refuse, lined with grasses and moss on high ground.

Foraging and Feeding

Great Cormorant: Dives for fish and crustaceans.

Vocalization

Great Cormorant: Usually silent. Low groan during breeding.

Similar Species

Great Cormorant: Double-crested Cormorant is smaller with orange throat patch.

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Family Cormorant (Phalacrocoracidae)_blue
Species Phalacrocorax carbo
Length35 - 40 Inches
Wingspan63 Inches

Great Cormorant

Great Cormorant: Largest North American comorant. Black with bright yellow throat pouch bordered with white feathers. Expert swimmer, dives for fish, crustaceans. When wet holds wings in spread eagle position to dry. Strong direct flight with steady wing beats. Flies in V or straight line formation.

● Song: "curr-curr-curr", "gur-gur-gur"

● Foraging & Feeding: Great Cormorant: Dives for fish and crustaceans.

● Breeding & nesting: Great Cormorant: Three to five pale blue or green eggs incubated by both sexes 28 to 31 days in a nest of twigs, seaweed, and refuse, lined with grasses and moss on high ground.

● Similar species: Great Cormorant: Double-crested Cormorant is smaller with orange throat patch.

Flight Pattern

Strong direct flight with steady wing beats.
Great Cormorant Body Illustration_2
● Range & Habitat: Great Cormorant: Native of the Americas and Greenland. Prefers rocky coasts with sheltered inshore waters.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight80 Ounces
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BellyX
The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX