Phalacrocorax carbo
A large black diving bird, often seen drying its wings like a heraldic crest.
Size: 80-100 cm | Habitat: Pond, Lake & River Birds | Season: All year
Large, primitive-looking, and almost entirely black with a bronze-green sheen, the cormorant has a long hooked bill and a patch of yellow-orange skin at the base of the face. Increasingly common on inland lakes and rivers, not just the coast.
Large, black, goose-sized · long neck and hooked bill · yellow-orange face patch · white thigh patch and white head flecks (breeding) · sits low in water, bill tilted up
Cormorants dive deep to catch fish, propelled by their feet, and are frequently seen perched upright with wings held open to dry, since their feathers are less waterproof than most waterbirds'. They roost communally in trees or on posts.
A cormorant's feathers aren't fully waterproof by design — this reduces buoyancy and helps the bird dive more efficiently, but means it must spend time drying out afterwards.
The Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is a large, primitive-looking waterbird, almost entirely black with a bronze-green sheen, a long hooked bill, and a patch of bare yellow-orange skin at the base of the face.
Cormorants are powerful underwater hunters, diving deep and pursuing fish with strong, webbed feet, and are frequently seen perched with wings held open in a heraldic pose — a behaviour thought to help dry feathers that are less waterproof than those of most waterbirds, trading some buoyancy for improved diving efficiency. Once considered mainly a coastal bird, cormorants are now a familiar sight on inland lakes, gravel pits, and rivers across Britain.
Understanding the cormorant's spread inland illustrates how adaptable some waterbirds can be, moving well beyond their traditional coastal range wherever suitable fishing opportunities and roosting sites are available.
🟢 Conservation status: Green (UK Birds of Conservation Concern 5)
Green-listed. Cormorant numbers have grown substantially in the UK in recent decades, including a marked and sometimes controversial expansion onto inland lakes, gravel pits, and rivers far from the coast. This growth has occasionally brought the species into conflict with anglers and fish farms, but its population is currently considered secure.