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4

Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) Alternate name(s): "Black Cormorant", "Black Shag", "Large Black Cormorant", "Great Black Cormorant" Size: 70-102 cm; wingspan: 1.2-1.6 m Weight: 1.2-3.0 kg

Oman: Family Group 4 Family Group 4 Table Brown Booby Great Cormorant Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names Oman birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Great Cormorants are large cormorants (details of their size and weight depend on race; birds of nominate race "carbo" found in north-eastern Canada are the biggest and heaviest, while birds found in central Europe and Arabia, of race "sinensis", are the smallest and lightest). During the breeding season Great Cormorants have white nuptial plumes on their hindneck, white cheeks and chin and a white thigh patch. These are absent in eclipse. The tail feathers are long and black. Their irises are turquoise; the bill is grey, legs and feet are dark-grey. Juvenile Great Cormorants have a grey front.

Taxonomy, classification See Great Cormorant at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Great Cormorant is available HERE . There are several races of Great Cormorant that altogether have a very wide-ranging distribution. They are present in most of Europe (except large parts of Scandinavia), in parts of Marocco, Tunisia, Asia Minor, the coastline of much of the Middle East, parts of southern and mid-latitude Asia, including Japan and Taiwan, the river Nile valley and parts of eastern Africa, coastal Arabia and the East coast of North America. There is also a separate population in Australia, New Zealand and parts of New Guinea (for details see, e.g., Wikipedia). In Arabia Great Cormorants, race "sinensis", are found mostly as winter visitors along the coastal fringe. They are most common along the North coast, from Kuwait via Saudi Arabia and the UAE into northern Oman. Great Cormorants can be found in any type of aquatic habitat (both fresh water and saline), from the open sea and estuaries to rivers, freshwater lakes and large dams. Where to look? How to find this species? It is important for all birds spending a lot of time under water, such as cormorants, to dry and seal their plumage. They will often be seen on perches near the water's edge, such as rocks, dead branches, poles or lamp posts, drying their plumage with extended wings.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "sinensis" Great Cormorants, race "sinensis", were first spotted by us in Oman at Qurm Natural Park, near Muscat, in December 2009. Race "carboides" Great Cormorants, race "carboides", were spotted by us in Australia

Photos

Race "sinensis"

ADULT

NON-BREEDING

Sex unknown

Lateral view of adult Great Cormorants in non-breeding plumage
[Qurm Natural Park, Qurm, December 2009]

Small colony of Great Cormorants; the white-breasted and mottled birds are juveniles, adults are all-black
[Qurm Natural Park, Qurm, December 2009]

Adult Great Cormorant in non-breeding plumage at takeoff
[Qurm Natural Park, Qurm, December 2009]

Two Great Cormorants in non-breeding plumage trying to gain altitude
[Qurm Natural Park, Qurm, December 2009]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

In the foreground juvenile Great Cormorants; note the grey front
[Qurm Natural Park, Qurm, December 2009]

Juvenile Great Cormorant in low flight
[Qurm Natural Park, Qurm, December 2009]

Race "carboides"

Photos of race "carboides" were obtained by us in Australia.

Food, Diet

Like almost all other members of the Phalacrocorax family, Great Cormorants feed on fish.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

We will try to replace this poor recording with a better one as soon as possible.

grtcorm_20170701.m4a	carboides (NW NSW)	Arrival	© MD
grtcorm_dw_20170815.m4a	sinensis (Poland)	? (flock)	© DW
grtcorm_dw_20170815_1.m4a	sinensis (Poland)	? (flock)	© DW

More Great Cormorant sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Fri, 19 May 2023, 9:09 +00:00