Crested Cormorant - description, habitat, interesting facts

The crested cormorant is a seabird that belongs to the Pelican-like order, the family Cormorant. All birds of the named order have one similar feature - they know how to swim and eat mainly fish. All Pelican-like small nostrils, allowing not to get water into the respiratory tract, membranes on the legs, allowing you to swim in the water and waterproof feathers. However, the crested cormorant has its own distinctive features.

Description of the species

The second name of the species is the long-nosed cormorant. It is connected with the fact that the beak of this species of cormorants is somewhat longer than that of all the others. Each of the representatives of the family has its own habitat and appearance features. A distinctive feature of the crested cormorant is the tuft on the head and the relatively long length of the beak.

The average bird size of this species is about 70 cm, weight reaches 2 kg, wingspan is about 1 m.The length of the beak of the crested cormorants is about 7 cm, which can only be compared with the large cormorant, but it is almost twice as large as the crested, because the relative length of the beak is longer in the crested members of the family, from which their second name originated.

Cormorants are covered with black feathers with a metallic greenish tint. A distinctive feature of the described species is that they do not have specks of a different color. Only in young representatives of the species, a bright, not very bright spot can sometimes be found on the cheek or neck. For other members of the family is characterized by white or red spots on the face or neck.

All members of the family feathers are not completely waterproof. After swimming the cormorant has to stay in the sun for a long time and dry its plumage.

Prevalence

Cormorants are heat-loving birds.The southern representatives of the species are sedentary, as the ambient temperature allows them to feel comfortable all year round. Northern representatives are forced to fly to warmer countries when the cold season comes.

In Russia, the crested cormorant can be found on the Kola and Crimean peninsulas. Moreover, its prevalence is sporadic. In some areas of the Crimea, representatives of this species are more than other seabirds, in others they practically do not occur.

Interesting Facts

There are several interesting facts about this species of bird:

1. Unprotected sexual dimorphism. In crested cormorants, males and females differ only in size. Males are somewhat larger, but this difference can be noticed only by an experienced ornithologist. In general, males and females have the same color and are very similar. Representatives of both sexes hatch eggs one by one, therefore it is very difficult to understand which of them is who.
2. A bird that does not like to fly. Crested cormorants are one of those rare animals that, having wings and paws, still prefers to swim. Cormorants can fly, but their flight is very heavy,they are often forced to flap their wings. A cormorant flies if you need to go down from a cliff or move to a new habitat. Cormorant doesn't like to walk either, his walk is unstable.
3. Floats like a submarine. Unlike most birds, which seem to be sitting on the water, cormorant sinks into it to the very neck. Also, these birds dive well and can move under water.
4. Guarded view. The crested cormorant is a species listed in the Red Book of Russia, Ukraine and the Black Sea. However, in the whole world, this species is considered safe and fairly common. In the world view, a crested cormorant is a species with minimal risks of extinction.
5. A bird that loves to change clothes. Crested Cormorant can be called a real mod. The fact is that his chicks hatch not black, but dirty-brown. As they grow older, the birds gradually darken. Thus, in nesting adolescents, the back and the back of the head and neck are black, and the stomach and the front of the neck are off-white. In the first mating season, the back of the bird acquires a greenish metallic shade, and the stomach becomes black, white spots remain only on the neck or cheeks, but they are not clearly pronounced.Adult individuals are completely covered with black feathers with a green tint, and in the mating period a crest appears on their heads. The rest of the tuft is missing.

It can be concluded that the crested cormorant is a protected species listed in the Red Book. This is a sea bird that swims better than it walks or flies, dives well and feels comfortable under water. Males and females of this species almost do not differ from each other and their sizes resemble the middle duck. Cormorants can be met in Russia on the Kola and Crimean peninsulas, but it is difficult to recognize him, since he has a characteristic appearance only in adulthood and in the mating season.