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Pelagic Cormorant

Phalacrocorax pelagicus ORDER: PELECANIFORMES FAMILY: PHALACROCORACIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

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Pelagic Cormorant Photo

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The Pelagic Cormorant is a small, slender cormorant of the Pacific Coast. Although it is exclusively marine in habits, its name is misleading, since it prefers inshore areas rather than the open ocean.

Inside Birding
For complete information on this species, visit The Birds of North America Online.

Appearance

Gull-like
Gull-like

Adult Description

  • Large, dark water bird; small to medium-sized cormorant.
  • Long body and long, slender neck.
  • Slender bill is blunt or hooked at tip.

Immature Description

Immature brownish and lacks crests or glossy plumage of adult.

Range Map Help

Pelagic Cormorant Range Map
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Similar Species

  • Double-crested Cormorant is larger, with a thicker bill, and has conspicuous pale facial skin, usually orange. Juvenile has uniformly pale upper breast.
  • Brandt's Cormorant is larger and stockier, with shorter tail, larger bill, blue or gray facial skin, and a pale patch at the base of the bill. Juvenile has pale breast with V-shaped pale mark.
  • Red-faced Cormorant very similar, but has larger, slightly yellowish bill and bare skin reaching above the bill. Immature nearly identical to immature Pelagic Cormorant except for thicker, paler bill.