Double-crested cormorant
Scientific name: Nannopterum auritum (R. P. Lesson, 1831)
Overview
The double-crested cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of water birds. It is found near rivers and lakes and in coastal areas and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico. Measuring 70–90 cm (28–35 in) in length, it is entirely black except for a bare patch of orange-yellow facial skin and some extra plumage that it exhibits in the breeding season when it grows a double crest in which black feathers are mingled with white. Five subspecies are recognized. It mainly eats fish and hunts by swimming and diving. Its feathers, like all cormorants, are not waterproof, and it must dry them out after spending time in the water. Once threatened by the use of DDT, the numbers of this bird have increased markedly in recent years.
From the Wikipedia article “Double-crested cormorant”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Caribbean; Middle America; North America.
Common names
Names in other languages (9)
- Arabic
- غاق طويل الأذن
- Chinese
- 角鸕鶿
- French
- Cormoran à aigrettes
- German
- Ohrenscharbe
- Japanese
- ミミヒメウ
- Persian
- باکلان دوکاکل
- Portuguese
- corvo-marinho-d'orelhas, corvo-marinho-de-orelhas
- Spanish
- Cormorán orejudo
- Turkish
- Kulaklı karabatak
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — names in other languages. Q117254648, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Double-crested cormorant”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Mdf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Cephas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026