Little Black Cormorant

The green iris is diagnostic. White flecks on the head indicate breeding plumage.

The Little Black Cormorant, Phalacrocorax sulcirostris  (Phalacrocorax = bald raven and sulcirostris = furrowed bill) is mostly found on inland lakes, dams, and rivers, but also is seen on quiet marine estuaries. It is more gregarious than the other two species of cormorants we normally see in this district – the Little Pied Cormorant and the Great Cormorant – and is often seen in small groups.

Little Black Cormorants feed mostly on fish species and will take other aquatic animals also. They have fully webbed feet, and are excellent divers and underwater swimmers.

Little Black Cormorants are nearly all black. The sexes are similar

When flying between water bodies, they often fly in line formations. They have also been observed ‘fishing’ in cooperative raft configurations – herding their prey for easier pickings.

Like our other cormorants, little blacks spend a lot of time ‘drying out’ by perching on a convenient branch, log, fence post, etc., with their wings spread wide.

Oddly, cormorants do not have waterproof plumage, and between feeding forays must dry their feathers

McNeilly Park wetland, Alex Goudie Park, Bellbird Park wetland and similar locations around Drouin are good places to tick this ‘bald raven with a furrowed bill’.