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![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 600 W: 62 N: 1227]](http://i1.treklens.com/misc/g-g-g.gif) (4362) | Cormorants are medium-to-large seabirds. The majority, including all Northern Hemisphere species, have mainly dark plumage, but some Southern Hemisphere species are black and white, and a few like the Spotted Shag of New Zealand, are quite colourful. Many species have areas of coloured skin on the face which can be bright blue, orange, red or yellow, typically becoming more brightly coloured in the breeding season. The bill is long, thin, and sharply hooked. Their feet are four-toed and webbed, a distinguishing feature among the Pelecaniformes order.
After fishing, cormorants go ashore, and are frequently seen holding their wings out in the sun; it is assumed that this is to dry them. Unusually for a water bird, their feathers are not waterproofed. This may help them dive quickly, since their feathers do not retain air bubbles.
Cormorants are colonial nesters, using trees, rocky islets, or cliffs. The eggs are a chalky-blue colour. There is usually one brood a year. The young are fed through regurgitation. They typically have deep, ungainly bills, reminiscent of pelicans.
They are coastal rather than oceanic birds, and some have colonised inland waters. They range around the world, except for the central Pacific islands.
All are fish-eaters, dining on small eels, fish, and even water snakes. They dive from the surface, though many species make a characteristic half-jump as they dive, presumably to give themselves a more streamlined entry into the water. Under water they propel themselves with their feet. Some cormorant species have been found, using depth gauges, to dive to depths of as much as 45 metres.
These are the Great Cormorant and are large black birds, 77-94 cm in length with a 121-149 cm wingspan. They have a longish tail and yellow throat-patch. Adults have white thigh patches in the breeding season. In European waters it can be distinguished from the Common Shag by its larger size, heavier build, thicker bill, lack of a crest and plumage without any green tinge.
In eastern North America, it is similarly larger and bulkier than Double-crested Cormorant, and the latter species has more yellow on the throat and bill
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