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Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

Photo by Liana
Published on Project Noah
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Field Notes

Description:

This lovely Cormorant is blacky-brown with kind of a green sheen going on on the back. It is black on the belly and onto the legs. The feet are webbed and are black like the legs. There is yellow around the end of the bill near the eye and extending underneath. The eyes are a beautiful jade colour. "White patch on the lower body above the legs when breeding." (Atlas of Living Australia)

Habitat:

It was incredibly windy and they were sitting on sandbars in the Nornalup Inlet amongst Terns, Pelicans, and Silver Gulls. This is within the boundaries of the Walpole and Nornalup Inlets Marine Park (Department of Parks and Wildlife - DPAW)

Notes:

Thank you AshleyT for identifying this lovely bird!

Reference: http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Phalacrocorax+(Phalacrocorax)+carbo

Reference for Walpole and Nornalup Inlets Marine Park: https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/downloads/parks/201200…

Species ID Suggestions

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

Comments (2)

AshleyT, thanks for the ID and for your explanation! I had been trying to identify this critter and just managed to get confused by all of the different names and images...and by my initial thoughts for ID :D
They have the start of the patch coming in behind the bill, they only get them in breeding season. They also have the white thigh patch that is characteristic of great cormorants :)

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