Brandt's Cormorant

Phalacrocorax penicillatusOrder: PELECANIFORMES Family: Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae)

Codes: Common Name: BRAC Scientific Name: PHAPEN ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174724

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Overview

Brandt's Cormorant: Medium crestless cormorant with dull black body. Face, back have slender white plumes. Bright blue throat pouch bordered with yellow. Dives for fish, crabs and shrimp. Holds wings out to dry. Strong direct flight with rapid, powerful wing beats, flies in straight line formation.

Range and Habitat

Brandt's Cormorant: Resident along Pacific coast from southeastern Alaska south to Baja California. Preferred habitats include rocky coastal shores.

Topo Map: Upright-perching Water-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

Generally silent

Interesting Facts

Hundreds of Brandt's Cormorants are often seen flying in long lines, very near the water’s surface, on the way to their feeding ground.

The name Cormorant is derived from the Latin words Corvus Marinus, meaning marine crow or raven. Their habit of seeking out high perches after a meal and their dark color, both reminiscent of the crow, may account for this name.

Their scientific name, Phalacrocorax, comes from the Greek words meaning “bald crow.”

A group of cormorants has many collective nouns, including a "flight", "gulp", "rookery", "sunning", and "swim" of cormorants.

Bird Term Glossary

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Brandt's Cormorant

● Song: Generally silent

● Foraging & Feeding: Brandt's Cormorant: Eats fish; forages underwater, swimming with wings and feet to chase down prey and capture it with hooked bill.

● Breeding & nesting: Brandt's Cormorant: Three to six blue white eggs are laid in a large nest made of seaweed or other debris; usually nests in colonies on cliffs and rocky islands. Incubation ranges from 28 to 31 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Brandt's Cormorant: Loons lack hooked bills. Double-crested Cormorant has orange on throat. Pelagic Cormorant has red on throat and is noticeably smaller and slimmer.

Flight Pattern

Strong direct flight with powerful rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Brandt's Cormorant: Resident along Pacific coast from southeastern Alaska south to Baja California. Preferred habitats include rocky coastal shores.

^BreedingMonogamous, Colonial

^Population

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight73.6 Ounces

Upright-perching Water-like Body

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

Plumes

Large, conspicuous, showy feathers.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

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.

Field Guide to Birds of North America