Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 20.1–29.9 in
51–76 cm - Wingspan
- 39.4–47.6 in
100–121 cm - Weight
- 48.3–86.1 oz
1370–2440 g
Other Names
- Baird's Cormorant
- Cormoran Pélagique (French)
- Cormorán Pelágico, Pato sargento (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Pelagic Cormorant uses its own guano to solidify its nest materials and to cement its nest to the cliff face.
- The Pelagic Cormorant is among the least gregarious or social of the cormorants, nesting on steep cliffs along rocky and exposed shorelines, either in loose colonies or far from nearest neighbors.
Habitat
Shore-line
Found in inshore coastal waters. Breeding and roost sites include rocky habitat along outer coast, bays, inlets, estuaries, rapids, coves, surge narrows, harbors, lagoons, and coastal log-storage sites.
Food
Fish
Fish and marine invertebrates.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 1–8 eggs
- Egg Description
- Greenish white to bluish.
- Condition at Hatching
- Naked and helpless.
Nest Description
Compact shallow bowl of mostly grass and seaweeds, but also mosses, sticks, feathers and general marine debris (including rope, plastic, and other human-made objects); lined with dry vegetation. Placed on narrow ledges on high, steep, inaccessible rocky cliffs, facing the sea.
Nest Placement
Cliff
Behavior
Surface Dive
Dives from the surface of the water and chases prey under water. Grabs fish in bill, without spearing it.
Conservation
Least Concern
Populations appear stable. Numbers were reduced by human and natural disturbances from 1850 to 1900s.
Credits
- Hobson, K. A. 1997. Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus). In The Birds of North America, No. 282 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.