DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT GALLERY
(Phalarocorax Auritus)

The Double-crested Cormorant is a large, black water bird that has orange bare skin at the base of the bill, which is long, gray, and hooked at the tip. Breeding adults are all black. Immatures and nonbreeders have paler breast. Dives underwater to catch fish and swims like a duck in between dives. Finds open perches to spread wings and dry feathers. Can be in large flocks or solo and is most likely to be seen inland.  The common name refers to the two crests on its head, which are not usually visible.  The latin underlying “Cormorant” means “Sea Crow”.  Often seen flying in a large V formation.  All About birds gives this additional descriptive information about the Double-crested Cormorant:  The gangly Double-crested Cormorant is a prehistoric-looking, matte-black fishing bird with yellow-orange facial skin. Though they look like a combination of a goose and a loon, they are relatives of frigatebirds and boobies and are a common sight around fresh and salt water across North America—perhaps attracting the most attention when they stand on docks, rocky islands, and channel markers, their wings spread out to dry. These solid, heavy-boned birds are experts at diving to catch small fish.

I saw and photographed my first Double-crested Cormorant at Salt Lake near Luling, Texas on April 19, 2020. I have seen them on several other occasions and locations since I began birdwatching in earnest.  Most recently, I saw a lovely juvenile perched on the tree in the lake in front of my house.  

Double-crested Cormorant sitting next to an Osprey at Salt Lake, Guadalupe County, Texas. April 19, 2020.
Immature, or non-breeding Double-crested Cormorant at Salt Lake on April 19, 2020.
Double-crested Cormorant seen from Backridge Road near Sabine Pass on April 26, 2020.
Junvenile Double-crested Cormorant as seen from my boathouse, November 21, 2020.


“Cool Facts” about the Double-crested Cormorant from All About Birds:

  • From a distance, Double-crested Cormorants are dark birds with snaky necks, but up-close they’re quite colorful—with orange-yellow skin on their face and throat, striking aquamarine eyes that sparkle like jewels, and a mouth that is bright blue on the inside.
  • The double crest of the Double-crested Cormorant is only visible on adults during breeding season. The crests are white in cormorants from Alaska and black in other regions.
  • Cormorants often stand in the sun with their wings spread out to dry. They have less preen oil than other birds, so their feathers can get soaked rather than shedding water like a duck’s. Though this seems like a problem for a bird that spends its life in water, wet feathers probably make it easier for cormorants to hunt underwater with agility and speed.
  • Double-crested Cormorant nests often are exposed to direct sun. Adults shade the chicks and also bring them water, pouring it from their mouths into those of the chicks.
  • In breeding colonies where the nests are placed on the ground, young cormorants leave their nests and congregate into groups with other youngsters (creches). They return to their own nests to be fed.
  • Accumulated fecal matter below nests can kill the nest trees. When this happens, the cormorants may move to a new area or they may simply shift to nesting on the ground.
  • The Double-crested Cormorant makes a bulky nest of sticks and other materials. It frequently picks up junk, such as rope, deflated balloons, fishnet, and plastic debris to incorporate into the nest. Parts of dead birds are commonly used too.
  • Large pebbles are occasionally found in cormorant nests, and the cormorants treat them as eggs.
  • The oldest known Double-crested Cormorant was at least 22 years, 6 months old; it was banded in Ontario in 1984 and found in Louisiana in 2006.