Victor Hernandez (2007)
Phalacrococoraz auritus
Appearance:
The Double –crested Cormorant is a large black bird (74-91 cm long), with a wingspan on the average of 132 cm. It has a long tail and the feathers on its body are typically black to brown with a greenish sheen, when reflecting the sunlight. Its bill is narrow, hooked (great for spearing fish) and has an orange skin color around its beak, with turquoise colored eyes. During a short period in their breeding season, the Cormorant grows a white double crest used to attract possible mates. The body size of the Cormorant, to other parts of its body, is big; giving it a disproportioned look to it, making it seem very comical when walking around on land.
Behaviors:
Cormorants nest in colonies, mainly in platform nests made of sticks and seaweed in trees or islands, collecting big pebbles that resemble eggs. This behavior is very peculiar because they at times treat the rocks as eggs; it is not clear why they do this behavior.
The Cormorant swims low to the water while hunting for prey. When it has spotted prey, the bird will dive 1 to 8 meters into the water, and uses its flippers to maneuver in and throughout the water trying to hunt fish and other aquatic life.
The final interesting behavior is that this bird with its bill angled upwards and its wings spread out will allow its wings to dry.
Sound:
These birds make low grunting noise for their calls.
Habitat:
Cormorants are typically found on bodies of water such as coastal waters, lakes, and rivers. These birds mainly eat fish, but at times have been known to eat amphibians, insects, and crustaceans. These birds are very common, though their habitat might soon begin to be affected by fishing and the change of environment near masses of water.
Range:
Year-round: coast, Columbia Basin. From March-September, it can be found in southeast Oregon in its breeding grounds.
Around Willamette Campus:
The Double-crested Cormorant does not live on the Willamette Campus, so anyone visiting the campus will not be able to see it there. But if anyone truly interested and wants to see this bird in the wild, the Double-crested Cormorant is no farther than five minutes away, on the Willamette River. The Cormorant makes its home not too far away from campus and almost everyday you can see these birds hunting for food along the river and observe many of different habits. These birds have set up a colony on the little land mass across the River and people can observe their behaviors very well here in Salem.
