Facts about Great Cormorant
- 09
Great cormorants have been recorded breeding successfully in freshwater lakes across Asia since the 1980s, expanding their range from coastal regions into continental interiors over four decades.
- 08
Skeletal structures of great cormorants contain reduced air sacs compared to most diving birds, enabling them to achieve negative buoyancy and dive more efficiently than species relying on greater body density.
- 07
Their lack of waterproof plumage forces great cormorants to spend 10-15 percent of their daily time perched with wings spread open to dry, a behavior unique among diving birds.
- 06
Cormorant colonies can number over 10,000 breeding pairs at single locations like the Danube Delta, creating massive roosting sites visible from considerable distances.
- 05
In 2018, European Union member states designated great cormorants as invasive species due to population increases causing documented fish losses exceeding 50 percent in some freshwater fisheries.
- 04
Wingspans of great cormorants reach up to 160 centimeters, making them among the largest cormorant species in the world.
- 03
Throughout the year, great cormorants consume approximately 350 grams of fish daily, making them significant predators in European and Asian freshwater and coastal ecosystems.
- 02
Black plumage on adult great cormorants develops a distinctive white thigh patch during breeding season from December through March in Northern Hemisphere populations.
- 01
Diving to depths exceeding 30 meters, the great cormorant can remain submerged for up to 70 seconds while hunting fish underwater.