Family: Phalacrocoracidae, Cormorants view all from this family
Description 35-40" (89-102 cm). A large, thick-necked cormorant. Adult black with white throat and yellow chin pouch; in breeding plumage, has white flank patches. Immature is dull brown, with dusky neck and white on belly.
Habitat Sea cliffs, rocky coasts, and inshore waters.
Nesting 3 or 4 chalky, pale blue-green eggs in a nest of sticks lined with seaweed, placed on isolated cliffs or rocky islands.
Range Breeds from Newfoundland and Gulf of St. Lawrence south to Nova Scotia, Bay of Fundy, and Maine. Winters south to New Jersey, rarely to Florida. Also in Old World.
Voice Deep guttural grunts.
Discussion The largest member of its family, the well-named Great Cormorant is widespread in the Old World but nests only along the eastern coast of Canada in the New World. In the Far East, birds of this species are trained to catch fish, wearing a neck ring to prevent them from swallowing what they catch; well-trained birds can be sent out without a ring. The Great Cormorant has increased in numbers in recent decades, and dozens may now be observed in winter on offshore rocks where a single bird would have been a real find just a few years ago.
