What do Brandt’s cormorants eat?

What is the blue pouch on a Brandt cormorant?

In breeding season, a pouch beneath the throat called a gular pouch becomes distinctly blue, along with blue and green tints amid the black plumage. The blue gular pouch distinguishes the Brandt’s cormorant from pelagic cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus), which are of similar plumage but slightly smaller in size.

What is the size of a Brandt’s cormorant?

Brandt’s cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus) is one of 40 species of large seabirds from the family Phalacrocoracidae. The average Brandt’s cormorant stands 79 cm tall, about the size of a typical human toddler, with a wingspan twice as wide as the bird is tall.

What do Brandt’s cormorants eat?

Brandt’s cormorants mostly eat fish such as herring and rockfish, but their diet can include other fish as well as shrimp and crabs. To hunt, they dive beneath the surface of the ocean to catch fish. They can dive over 200 feet deep.

How many eggs does a Brandt’s cormorant have?

They breed between March and August, and usually have 4 eggs.Young birds are cared for by both parents. Brandt’s cormorants mostly eat fish such as herring and rockfish, but their diet can include other fish as well as shrimp and crabs. To hunt, they dive beneath the surface of the ocean to catch fish.

Where do Brandt’s cormorants nest?

This species nests on the ground or on rocky outcroppings. Año Nuevo Island is an important seabird breeding colony in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, hosting Brandt’s cormorants among other species of seabirds. Two adults tend a nest.

Are Brandt’s cormorants good divers?

Brandt’s cormorants are great divers and they can dive as deep as 40 feet in their pursuit of prey. Their webbed feet propel them underwater so they can swim and feed on fish close to the bottom. During the breeding season, they have an expandable pouch on their throat that turns blue.

What is Brandt’s cormorant?

Brandt’s cormorant ( Urile penicillatus) is a strictly marine bird of the cormorant family of seabirds that inhabits the Pacific coast of North America. It ranges, in the summer, from Alaska to the Gulf of California, but the population north of Vancouver Island migrates south during the winter.

How deep do Brandt’s cormorants forage?

Brandt’s cormorants have been observed foraging at depths of over 36.5 m (120 ft) . During the breeding season, adults have a blue throat patch.

What is Brandt’s cormorant?

The Brandt’s cormorant is closely tied to the California Current, which delivers cold water down the Pacific Coast from Alaska to the Baja Peninsula. A convergence of northern winds generates an upwelling of nutrients along the coast between central Oregon and southern California along the California Current.

What is the difference between Brandt’s and pelagic’s cormorants?

In flight, the heavy, kinked neck of Double-crested and very thin “broomstick” neck of Pelagic are notably different from the intermediate neck of Brandt’s. The name of Brandt’s Cormorant commemorates Johann Friedrich von Brandt, a German zoologist working at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, Russia, in the nineteenth century.

Where do Brandt’s cormornats live?

Brandt’s comorants breed along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to Mexico. Their main breeding range is between California and Washington. Brandt’s cormornats nest in colonies on the ground including cliffs, islands, and offshore rocks. The male cormorant selects the nest site and brings the nesting materials to the female so she can build the nest.

Do Brandt’s cormorants have plumes?

Their breeding plumage also includes white plumes on either side of the head, neck, and back. Like other cormorants, Brandt’s cormorants often spread their wings out to dry after a dive, as their feathers are not completely waterproof and become soaked.

How do Brandt’s cormorants nest?

The male cormorant selects the nest site and brings the nesting materials to the female so she can build the nest. Brandt’s cormorants are great divers and they can dive as deep as 40 feet in their pursuit of prey. Their webbed feet propel them underwater so they can swim and feed on fish close to the bottom.

What are some cool cormorant facts?

7 Cool Cormorant Facts. Cormorants have short wings for a flying bird due to their need to swim. Because of this they have the highest flight cost of any flying bird. The species name comes from the Greek words phalakros meaning “bald” and korax meaning “raven.”.

What is a Brandt’s cormorant?

Brandt’s cormorant ( Phalacrocorax penicillatus) is a strictly marine bird of the cormorant family of seabirds that inhabits the Pacific coast of North America. It ranges, in the summer, from Alaska to the Gulf of California, but the population north of Vancouver Island migrates south during the winter.

How do Brandt’s cormorants build their nests?

The male cormorant selects the nest site and brings the nesting materials to the female so she can build the nest. Brandt’s cormorants are great divers and they can dive as deep as 40 feet in their pursuit of prey. Their webbed feet propel them underwater so they can swim and feed on fish close to the bottom.

Where do Brandt’s comorants breed?

San Miguel Island, the westernmost island in Channel Islands National Park, is home to the most important breeding colony of this species in Southern California. Brandt’s comorants breed along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to Mexico.

How do cormorants dive?

Cormorants are expert divers, some types of Cormorant diving as deep as 45 metres. They speed along underwater via their webbed feet, using their wings as rudders. Some colonies of cormorants have been observed herding fish for more efficient hunting.

What do Brandt cormorants eat?

Their preferred breeding location is on gentle slopes on the windward side of islands. They may forage either near shore or well out to sea. The Brandt’s cormorant diet consists predominantly of a wide variety of fish, including herring and rockfish, as well as shrimp, and crabs.

Do cormorants forage in flocks?

However, there are also reports of foraging in flocks, and this is more usually seen in cormorants that feed in mid-water. The birds are highly gregarious, with roosting flocks of 250,000 having been reported, and flocks of up to 25,000 at sea.

Is there a breeding population of cormorants in the UK?

In contrast, our recently established inland breeding population which is largely (but not exclusively) associated with the continental sub-species P. c. sinensis, increased rapidly following colonisation, but is now showing signs of stabilisation. The UK holds an internationally important wintering numbers of Cormorant.

Are pelagic cormorants gregarious?

Unlike Brandt’s and Double-crested, Pelagic Cormorants are not very gregarious and are usually seen as single birds or pairs. Pelagic Cormorants are widespread along the Pacific coast and often occur with Brandt’s and Double-crested, where they are usually the least numerous of the three species.

What does a Brandt’s cormorant look like?

In addition to standard cormorant black, Brandt’s sports a vivid cobalt-blue throat patch and eyes during breeding season, along with wispy white feathers on the head. This species nests and forages in the California Current, an area of rich upwelling between British Columbia, Canada, and Baja California, Mexico.