Cormorants are slender diving waterbirds with a distinctive shape and set of habits. While there are many cormorant species that live in North America, there are four that can typically be found in California. Here is everything you need to know about these four species.

Brandt’s Cormorant

Identification

Adult Brandt’s Cormorants are a shiny black color with pinkish gray behind the gular. Their most notable feature is the bright blue gular pouch and blue eye that sets this species apart from other cormorant species. They also have “whiskers” on the face behind the gular as well.

Immature birds are brown with a lighter colored chin and look much drabber overall.

Range

Brandt’s Cormorants live along the Pacific Coast of the continental United States year round from Washington all the way to Mexico. During the winter they can be found more north and more south than other times of the year expanding into the shores of Alaska and Mexico.

Diet and Foraging Habits

Brandt’s Cormorants feed by diving into the water and catching fish. They are sight feeders and are adept at swimming both at the surface and deep in the water. Brandt’s Cormorants are known to eat an extremely wide variety of fish species and will forage in large groups of fish eating predators including other Brandt’s Cormorants, gulls, terns, and even sea lions.

Where to Find This Bird

Brandt’s Cormorants are almost exclusive to coastlines of the Pacific Ocean. They can be seen in large colonies and are even found on Cliffside’s high up above the water.

Double-crested Cormorant

Identification

Adult Double-crested Cormorants have a dark brown to black head, neck, back, underside and wings. Juveniles will be lighter brown in color with a lighter throat and underside. Both adults and juveniles have orange by the eyes and base of the bill as well as a turquoise colored eye. Breeding adult birds have two tufts on their head that can sometimes be hard to see, but these crests are what this species is named for.

Range

Double-crested Cormorants live year round along the Pacific Coast of North America from Northwestern Mexico all the way up to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. They also live year round in parts of Florida. This species winters in in the Southeastern United States and Northeastern Mexico. In spring, they move into the Northern United States and Southern Canada where they can be seen migrating in large flocks.

Diet and Foraging Habits

Double-crested Cormorants primarily eat fish which they catch by hunting them underwater. They will also eat other aquatic creature such as crustaceans and amphibians.

Where to Find This Bird

Double-crested Cormorants can be found in a variety of places with all of them usually being near bodies of water. Look for this species in trees lining lakes and ponds as well as in marshes. Often times, Double-crested Cormorants will congregate in large groups on islands or other places with adequate perches as they dry their wings and survey for prey.

Neotropic Cormorant

Identification

Neotropic Cormorants are small members of the cormorant family. Adult birds are a shiny black color with white feathers on their head, back, and wings. They have a white triangle on the base of the bill known as a gular. Neotropic Cormorants have yellowish orange on the base of the bill and a turquoise-colored eye. Juveniles are lighter in color overall, sporting brown coloration instead of black.

Range

Neotropic Cormorants live year-round in South America, Central America, much of Mexico, and the Gulf Coast of the United States. While much of the population is not migratory, some birds move north in spring and have a habit of turning up north of their normal range.

Diet and Foraging Habits

Neotropic Cormorants eat mostly fish, but will also consume insects, crustaceans, and amphibians. These birds are sight feeders and search for prey underwater where their streamlined bodies make them adept swimmers.

Where to Find This Bird

Neotropic Cormorants live in a wide variety of places including inland lakes, saltmarshes, and along ocean coastlines. They can often be seen perched in branches and other structures near water keeping watch for food.

For information on how to differentiate a Double-crested Cormorant from a Neotropic Cormorant click here to read an article on the subject, or check out the video below.

Pelagic Cormorant

Identification

Pelagic Cormorants are smaller than most other cormorant species and are noted to have a more slender neck. In breeding plumage, they have a variety of iridescent colors including a greenish sheen on the body, and purple to blue sheen on the head. They also have clean white flanks and red on the face near the bill. Nonbreeding birds are a glossy dark brown to black color.

Range

Pelagic Cormorants are birds of the Pacific Ocean. They can be found along the coasts of North America from Mexico all the way up to Northwestern Alaska. This species also lives along the coasts of Asia from Russia south to Japan and South Korea. In summer, some Pelagic Cormorants into the most northern parts of Russia and Alaska.

Diet and Foraging Habits

Pelagic Cormorants primarily eat fish, many of which are marine. They will also eat crustaceans and other types of invertebrates. Pelagic Cormorants dive to catch their prey and can get down farther than 130 feet below the waters surface.

Where to Find This Bird

While the word “pelagic” refers to open water which actually doesn’t fit with the habitat that this species is found in. Pelagic Cormorants rarely venture too far from shore and can be found along cliffs and shorelines along with other cormorant species.

Summary

Cormorants are unique, lanky birds that are a common sight near the water. Knowing the habits, range, and key identification features of each of these species can be incredibly useful in knowing what to look for in the field.

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