Pelagic Cormorant - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Marysan
Photographed: Grays Harbor Co., Washington, USA.

Phalacrocorax pelagicus

Identification

64-74 cm long. Black-body with a metallic gloss, magenta facial skin, white patches on flanks, throat pouch and face red. Sexes similar.

Similar species

Other cormorants, and especially Brandt's Cormorant

Distribution

North east Asia, the Bering sea, and Alaska to the Baja peninsula in Mexico.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies are recognized:

• P. p. pelagicus
• P. p. resplendens

Habitat

Offshore and inshore waters.

Photo by Rbroadwell
Photographed: San Francisco Bay

Behaviour

Dives into sea for food.

It uses the same nest for several years; it is made of seaweed, grass and cemented together with its own guano. These nests can reach 5-6 feet in height.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Hobson, K. A. (2020). Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.pelcor.01
3. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2019. Pelagic_Cormorant in: All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/ Accessed on 12 September 2020

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Pelagic Cormorant. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 16 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pelagic_Cormorant

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