Bird name:

Pelagic Cormorant

Phalacrocorax pelagicus

Order

PELECANIFORMES

Family

Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae)

Code 4

PECO

Code 6

PHAPEL

ITIS

174725

Breeding Location:

Seashore, rocky or sandy

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial

Breeding Population:

Stable

Egg Color:

Pale blue

Number of Eggs:

3 - 5

Incubation Days:

26 - 37

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Seaweed, grass, moss, debris and twigs.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Pelagic Cormorant: Small cormorant with glossy black body and bold white patches on flanks. Face and throat pouch are red. Head and neck are held straight in flight, with head appearing no wider than neck. Sexes are similar. Breeding adult has fine white plumes on sides of neck. Winter adult lacks red face and white flank patches. Juvenile resembles winter adult but is duller.

Range and Habitat

Pelagic Cormorant: Breeds from the Bering Sea south to northern Baja California. Spends winters south of southern Alaska. Preferred habitats include offshore and inshore waters.

Breeding and Nesting

Pelagic Cormorant: Three to five pale blue eggs are laid in a nest made of seaweed, feathers, and other debris; nests become large due to re-use year after year. Incubation ranges from 26 to 37 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Pelagic Cormorant: Diet consists of marine fish, crustaceans, and other invertebrates; forages by diving from the surface, using its large, webbed feet to swim underwater in search of food.

Vocalization

Pelagic Cormorant: Groans and hisses in breeding colonies.

Similar Species

Pelagic Cormorant: Loons lack hooked bills. Other cormorants are larger and lack combination of red faces and red throat pouches.

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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.

Face

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

Flank

The lateral area posterior to the side of the bird’s body that extends back to the base of the tail.

Pelagic

The pelagic is a type of bird whose habitat is on the open ocean rather than in a coastal region or on inland bodies of water (lakes, rivers). An example of a pelagic bird is the blacklegged kittiwake.

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