Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

Introduction
A large seabird, the species belongs to the Phalacrocoracidae family. This family includes 3 genera and 36 different species. It lives over a very wide range spanning Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and part of North America. According to a recent census, the European population is estimated between 310,000 and 370,000 pairs, i.e. 3 times higher than 30 years ago.
A large seabird, the species belongs to the Phalacrocoracidae family. This family includes 3 genera and 36 different species. It lives over a very wide range spanning Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and part of North America. According to a recent census, the European population is estimated between 310,000 and 370,000 pairs, i.e. 3 times higher than 30 years ago.
Appearance
The adult bird has black breeding plumage, however there are some blue-green reflections. The back of the animal is completely gray with dark ribbons. The tail is black and quite long compared to the body of the bird. The head is also black, showing some white feathers on the crest. Throat and cheeks are white. The tail is black and quite long compared to the body of the bird. The cormorant's eye is emerald green. Legs, toes are black. Singularity of this species, it has webbed feet, an indisputable asset facilitating the swimming of the bird. One can see during the nuptial period, a significant white spot on the thigh.
Measurement
Size :84 to 98 cm
Wingspan: 130 to 160 cm
Weight: between 2000 and 3700 g
Longevity: 20 years
Nesting and reproduction
Nesting period: April to June
Number of broods: 1
Number of eggs: 3 to 4 eggs of 58 g, white
Hatching duration: 28 to 31 days
1st flight: 48-52 days
Feed
The great cormorant feeds mainly on live fish, however, it can also eat crustaceans, molluscs and amphibians that it tracks in the mud and mud, some specimens do not hesitate to attack small birds. Since fish are its favorite prey, so it can catch and swallow one and a half kilogram fish, now the bird is most often content with small, easily ingestible fish.
Behavior
An infallible fishing technique, the cormorant is an excellent fisherman, as fish is an integral part of its diet, it dives under water from the surface, in order to capture nearby prey. However, it can fish on the bottom, because the animal knows from experience that schools of fish live in deeper areas. Its legs are largely webbed, an undeniable advantage, but it is its eyes equipped with sufficiently deformable lenses to adapt to aquatic vision that allows cormorants to be a formidable fisherman.
Reproduction
The nest is built near the feeding place, it is a large structure composed of sticks and algae, the interior of the building is lined with finer materials. Both parents are busy building the family nest, it is mostly placed either on a low tree, on the ground, or on cliff ledges with steep slopes that are difficult to access.
The female lays an average of 3 to 4 white eggs. Incubation lasts about 28 to 31 days, both parents mutually protect their broods. At hatching the juveniles are fed by the two adults for several weeks, they are fed at the beginning by regurgitated liquid, later when the chicks have their first feathers, they will be fed by solid food which they will take directly in parents throat.
Their first flight will take place 50 days after birth, but the young birds will still remain under the protection and feeding of the adults.
The adult bird has black breeding plumage, however there are some blue-green reflections. The back of the animal is completely gray with dark ribbons. The tail is black and quite long compared to the body of the bird. The head is also black, showing some white feathers on the crest. Throat and cheeks are white. The tail is black and quite long compared to the body of the bird. The cormorant's eye is emerald green. Legs, toes are black. Singularity of this species, it has webbed feet, an indisputable asset facilitating the swimming of the bird. One can see during the nuptial period, a significant white spot on the thigh.
Measurement
Size :84 to 98 cm
Wingspan: 130 to 160 cm
Weight: between 2000 and 3700 g
Longevity: 20 years
Nesting and reproduction
Nesting period: April to June
Number of broods: 1
Number of eggs: 3 to 4 eggs of 58 g, white
Hatching duration: 28 to 31 days
1st flight: 48-52 days
Feed
The great cormorant feeds mainly on live fish, however, it can also eat crustaceans, molluscs and amphibians that it tracks in the mud and mud, some specimens do not hesitate to attack small birds. Since fish are its favorite prey, so it can catch and swallow one and a half kilogram fish, now the bird is most often content with small, easily ingestible fish.
Behavior
An infallible fishing technique, the cormorant is an excellent fisherman, as fish is an integral part of its diet, it dives under water from the surface, in order to capture nearby prey. However, it can fish on the bottom, because the animal knows from experience that schools of fish live in deeper areas. Its legs are largely webbed, an undeniable advantage, but it is its eyes equipped with sufficiently deformable lenses to adapt to aquatic vision that allows cormorants to be a formidable fisherman.
Reproduction
The nest is built near the feeding place, it is a large structure composed of sticks and algae, the interior of the building is lined with finer materials. Both parents are busy building the family nest, it is mostly placed either on a low tree, on the ground, or on cliff ledges with steep slopes that are difficult to access.
The female lays an average of 3 to 4 white eggs. Incubation lasts about 28 to 31 days, both parents mutually protect their broods. At hatching the juveniles are fed by the two adults for several weeks, they are fed at the beginning by regurgitated liquid, later when the chicks have their first feathers, they will be fed by solid food which they will take directly in parents throat.
Their first flight will take place 50 days after birth, but the young birds will still remain under the protection and feeding of the adults.