Cormorants

Great Cormorant

Kormoran

Phalacrocorax carbo

Cormorants8 photosFirst seen: 30 August 2026

The Great Cormorant is a large fish-eating waterbird found across much of the Old World and parts of eastern North America. It pursues prey underwater using its feet and often rests with wings spread to dry.

ID tip: Its large size, heavy hooked bill, long tail and pale bare skin at the bill base are useful. Breeding adults develop a white thigh patch and whitish head and neck feathers.

First seen: 30 August 2026 · Nordende des Zürichsees · 8 photos in the collection.

Places in my records

Locations where this species is supported by a dated first record, an unambiguous single-place outing or a reviewed assignment.

Lake Skadar4 September 2026 Nordende des Zürichsees30 August 2026 Ulcinj Salt Flats6 September 2026

Family: Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae)
Length: 80–100 cm
Wingspan: 121–160 cm
Regional status: Year-round resident (Switzerland)
Conservation: Least Concern LCIUCN Red List · retrieved 30 August 2026
Habitat: Coasts, estuaries, large rivers, lakes and reservoirs
Diet: Fish and occasionally crustaceans

Built from verified occurrence records, not drawn by hand. Core range = the countries holding 99% of all records; the rest are scattered or vagrant records. Record counts track where people watch birds as much as where the birds are, so the map shows presence, not abundance. Data: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). Basemap: Natural Earth.

Great Cormorant

Places in my records

Selected photographs