Brandt's Cormorant

Brandt's Cormorant, adult; La Jolla, CA

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Breeding Brandt's Cormorants (above) develop a bright-blue gluar pouch which fades quickly after the nesting season; California, April. Head of non-breeding Brandt's Cormorant (below; California, January); compare lack of color in gular pouch with breeding adult shown above.

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A large cormorant of the Pacific Coast, the Brandt's Cormorant is found only in marine environments.

Description

• Large, dark water bird.
• Long body and long neck.
• Medium-sized bill is blunt or hooked at tip.
• Pale patch at base of bill.
• Bill dark.

• Size: 70-79 cm (28-31 in)
• Wingspan: 108 cm (43 in)
• Weight: 1400-2700 g (49.42-95.31 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike; males slightly larger.

Sound

Low, hoarse and guttural croaks, growls, or gargles.

Conservation Status

Legal protection from egging and hunting may have led to increases in populations from 1900 to 1970.

Other Names

Cormoran de Brandt (Spanish)
Cormorán de Brandt, Sargento guanero, Pato buzo (English)

Cool Facts

• The Brandt's Cormorant is the least vocal of the North American cormorants at the nest. It makes sounds that are audible only from a few feet away.
• In the main part of its range, from California to Washington, the Brandt's Cormorant is tied to the rich food sources associated with upwellings of the California Current. In the nonbreeding season, when the effects of this current diminish, populations redistribute along the coast, occurring where food is locally available.

Sources used to construct this page:

Wallace, E. A. H., and G. E. Wallace. 1998. Brandt?s Cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus). In The Birds of North America, No. 362 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.