Cormorants are seabirds that canmeet around the world. Many people confuse them with large gulls, mistakenly believing that they are their males. In fact, the birds belong to completely different orders, and the cormorants are much closer to pelicans.
Cormorants: description
Birds belong to the pelican-like.They have large paws with swimming membranes between the fingers, like all waterfowl species. The body of cormorants is quite large, ranging in size from 50 centimeters to one meter. Wings in scope are 80-160 cm.
They have a large body, an elongated neck and a long one,slightly curved and pointed at the end, beak. They usually raise their heads slightly. On land, they sit in an upright position, while the neck is bent and retracted. Birds swim and fly quickly, and on the shore they move slowly, waving from one foot to the other.
The color of cormorants is predominantly black.Feathers have a metallic sheen, shimmer in the sun with gold or green shades. Some species have white spots on the chest and abdomen, others have greyish plumage. The color of cormorants in chickens is light brown and changes as they mature. Sex differences practically do not appear externally. But males are usually larger in size.
What do cormorants eat?
Cormorants are great divers.Under the water, they are able to hold out for about two minutes, and sink to a depth of 15 meters. To prevent water from getting into the eyes, a thin and transparent blinks membrane covers them. The tail during the voyage is lowered into the water and used as a steering wheel.
Their beak can open very wide, allowingseize large prey. Birds feed on sardines, anchovy, cape trees, hunt for snakes, frogs, turtles and crayfish. Often, the diet includes seafood, such as shrimp and shellfish.
Lifestyle
Cormorants are active during the day.Many representatives are migratory. During nesting, they settle in large groups, often adjacent to terns, gulls, and penguins. Sedentary species begin to look for a couple since May. Migratory cormorants arrive at the nesting place already with a partner.
The bird nest looks simple.It is made of leaves and branches, placed on treetops or in coastal rocks. The female lays one egg every few days, there are up to six in total. Chicks are born helpless, parents feed them for several months, and sometimes until full maturity.
Maturity in cormorants comes after 2-4 years.They are born completely naked, acquiring feathers only in 30-80 days. Many species have several “outfits”. For example, large cormorants have their first marriage color, the second, and then the adult one.
Species and habitats
And in hot tropical areas, and in coldSubarctic areas can be found cormorant. This is a typical inhabitant of reservoirs. The bird is spread all over the planet. It inhabits the shores of continents and distant islands, is found near rivers, lakes and swamps.
Russia has a large, small, crested,Japanese, Bering and red-faced. Big in life is often called the Black Sea cormorant. He is a frequent guest of the southern coast of Crimea and Sochi, but also of the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East. They grow up to 90 cm. The color is black, the neck and head are sometimes gray.
The bering cormorant is more “fearless” and settles incold regions. It is found in Alaska, the Kuriles, the Aleutian Islands, in the north of the Japanese Islands, Chukotka and Sakhalin. Adult birds have a brilliant black plumage with green and purple tint, black beak, with red bare skin around. On the head is the crest.
Galapagos Cormorant is the largestrepresentative of the family. It grows from 90 to 100 cm. But its wings are much shorter than those of other representatives of cormorants. Their length is absolutely not enough to lift a bird into the air, so the Galapagos cormorant is the only one who cannot fly. He lives only on two Galapagos Islands - Isabella and Fernandina.
