CORMORANTS: VERANDAH’S UNDERWATER FISHERMEN
Looking out on Verandah’s ponds, you’ve probably seen a large, dark bird swimming low in the water, suddenly disappearing beneath the surface, or perched along the shoreline with its wings spread wide. Chances are you’re looking at a cormorant. Cormorants are superb underwater fishermen. Rather than waiting patiently for a fish to swim within reach, as a heron does, a cormorant goes after its dinner. It dives beneath the surface and swims through the water with its powerful webbed feet, chasing fish before grabbing them with the hooked tip of its bill. Watch one closely and you may see it disappear underwater in one place and pop up surprisingly far away moments later.
Cormorants are large, mostly dark birds with long necks, relatively short tails, orange-yellow skin around the base of the bill, and blue-green eyes that are much more colorful when seen up close. Here at Verandah, cormorants are easily confused with another familiar Florida waterbird—the anhinga. Both are large, dark, fish-eating birds. Both dive underwater. And both can often be seen perched with their wings spread wide to dry. There is one especially easy way to tell them apart: look at the bill. A cormorant has a heavier bill with a noticeable hook at the tip, perfect for grabbing slippery fish. An anhinga has a long, thin, straight, daggerlike bill, which it uses to spear fish. Don’t rely on the familiar wings-spread pose to identify them. Both cormorants and anhingas do that. After spending time underwater, they frequently perch with their wings extended to help their feathers dry.
Cormorants have some fascinating adaptations for their aquatic lifestyle. Their four toes are connected by webbing, giving them powerful propulsion underwater. They sit quite low in the water, reducing drag, and can vanish beneath the surface in an instant when pursuing prey. They are also very social birds. You may see several fishing in the same area, resting together, or flying overhead in a loose formation.
So the next time you see one of Verandah’s dark waterbirds drying its wings beside a pond, take a second look. Hooked bill and stockier body? Cormorant. Long dagger bill, extra-long tail, and snake-like neck? Anhinga. And if the bird suddenly disappears beneath the surface, keep watching. One of Verandah’s most accomplished underwater fishermen will soon pop back up—perhaps with lunch in its bill.
TEN INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT CORMORANTS
1. Their full name is Double-Crested Cormorant. The name comes from two small feather tufts, difficult to see, that adults develop on their heads during breeding season.
2. Their eyes are adapted for both above and below the water. A cormorant must be able to spot prey from the surface and then continue tracking fast-moving fish once it dives.
3. They have orange-yellow facial skin which is another way to distinguish them from anhingas.
4. The interior of their mouth turns bright blue during breeding season.
5. Cormorants are found on every continent except for Antarctica.
6. They have relatively dense bones for birds, which helps them dive and stay underwater more easily.
7. Cormorants sometimes fish cooperatively, with several birds working the same school of fish.
8. They have a long history in folklore and literature, where they have sometimes symbolized greed because of their voracious appetite.
9. They may rest with their neck pulled in, making them look surprisingly compact compared with their stretched-out swimming posture.
10. Humans have worked with cormorants for centuries. In parts of Asia, trained cormorants were traditionally used by fishermen to catch fish—a practice that still survives today in a few places.
