Wildlife Around Las Vegas, Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Birds Around Las Vegas, Wildlife Around Las Vegas

Juvenile (left) and two adult cormorants

General Description: Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) are black, diving birds with a long, hooked bill and a yellow throat patch. Adults are black; juveniles have a light colored or mottled breast.

The name "double-crested" comes from the two tufts of white feathers that are seen above the eyes in breeding adults. However, looking at the bird in the center of the photo at left, it looks like the "double crest" is more of a Mohawk.

Taxonomy: Suliformes, Phalacrocoracidae

Favored Habitat: Ponds, rivers, and lakes with fish to eat.

Adult (dark neck) and juvenile (light neck)

Where to Find: Urban ponds such as the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, Lorenzi Park, and Sunset Park are good, as is Lake Mead.

Comments: Double-crested Cormorants nest in colonies on the side of cliffs over water, such as a cliff in Black Canyon just below Hoover Dam.

If you were a tasty fish, this might be the last face you ever see!

Double-crested Cormorant adult during summer	Double-crested Cormorant adults resting on a pylon
Pale, young Double-crested Cormorant	Double-crested Cormorant in lower Las Vegas Wash
Typical swimming posture	Riding low in the water preparing for a quick escape into the depths
Double-crested Cormorant	Double-crested Cormorant and Ring-necked Ducks
Non-breeding adult, yellow throat skin and blue-green eye	Double-crested Cormorant breeding adult with "double crests"
Double-crested Cormorant breeding adult with "double crests"	Double-crested Cormorant breeding adult with "double crests"
Juvenile (brown) Double-crested Cormorant in flight	Double-crested Cormorant with long wings
Double-crested Cormorants fly in long lines	Double-crested Cormorant in flight
Hoping for a fisherman's fish, Dunedin, Florida	Double-crested Cormorant eating a halibut
Double-crested Cormorants courting	Double-crested Cormorants courting
Cormorant nesting habitat along the Colorado River	White-wash marks Cormorant nests below Hoover Dam
White-wash marks Cormorant nests below Hoover Dam	White-wash marks Cormorant nests below Hoover Dam
Cormorant nests on cliffs below Hoover Dam	Cormorants using construction artifacts for nests below Hoover Dam
Double-crested Cormorant nest colony below Hoover Dam	Double-crested Cormorant nest colony below Hoover Dam
Double-crested Cormorant nest colony below Hoover Dam	Double-crested Cormorant nest colony below Hoover Dam
Double-crested Cormorant at the Salton Sea	Double-crested Cormorant on a stick
Double-crested Cormorants at Ruby Marsh, northeast Nevada	Nestling begging for lunch
Double-crested Cormorant foraging in rough ocean water	Cormorant and others on the loafing island at Sunset Park
Cormorants in coastal habitat off Venice, Louisiana	Cormorants in coastal habitat off Venice, Louisiana

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.

; Last updated 240106

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