H.J. Ruiz – Avian101

The bird featured on today’s post is the Double-crested Cormorant, the photos I’m displaying at the bottom of this entry were shot during my recent trip to Florida. I was shooting pictures near a pond that is adjacent to a cattle ranch when I saw three of them perched up on a high pole top crosser. Later I saw two more swimming in the pond. They are interesting birds, excellent swimmers and divers too. They can hunt for fish in both salt water or fresh water.

The Double-crested Cormorant  is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico. Measuring  28–35 inches in length, it is an all-black bird which gains a small double crest of black and white feathers in breeding season. It has a bare patch of orange-yellow facial skin. Five subspecies are recognized.

The Double-crested Cormorant is found near rivers, lakes and along the coastline. It mainly eats fish and hunts by swimming and diving. Its feathers, like those of all cormorants, are not waterproof and it must spend time drying them out after spending time in the water. Once threatened by use of DDT, the numbers of this bird have increased markedly in recent years.

Text excerpts © Wikipedia – All photographs © HJ Ruiz – Avian101