Great Cormorant

Australia has five species of cormorant and we get to see the Great, the Little Black, the Pied and the Little Pied from time to time in our neck of the woods. The fifth one, the Black-faced, is more of a coastal species.

Great Cormorant - McNeilly Park, Drouin

During a recent Drouin bird survey at McNeilly Park in Drouin, a distant Great Cormorant had the surveyors scrambling for their field guides. The ‘dirty’ white breast confused us for a bit.

Great Cormorant - Lake Guthridge, Sale

The 70-90cm Great Cormorant is our largest cormorant. It is mostly all black with a yellow facial skin and white cheek patch.

Great and Little Pied Cormorant - Frankston Reservoir

The Great Cormorant often has several ‘local’ names: Black Cormorant, Australian Cormorant, Large Black Cormorant, Big Black Cormorant or Shag. Its scientific name, Phalacocorax carbo, means bald charcoal raven! Shag is an apparent reference to the ‘tangled hairstyle’ of the crest that the breeding adult acquires.

Great Cormorant 'wrestling' an eel - Alex Goudie Park, Drouin

Great Cormorants are fish-eating birds and they dive and can remain submerged for some time as they hunt their prey. In some countries around the world, cormorant fishing is a fishing technique used by fishermen who tie a snare around the bird's throat preventing it from swallowing the fish. The fisherman retrieves the fish from the bird by ‘encouraging’ it to regurgitate.

In Norway, the Great Cormorant is a game bird and thousands are shot each year for human consumption.