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Cormorant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cormorants
Brandt's
Cormorant, Phalacrocorax penicillatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Pelecaniformes
Family:
Phalacrocoracidae
Reichenbach, 1850
Genera
- Nannopterum
- Phalacrocorax
- Leucocarbo
The Phalacrocoracidae
family of birds is represented by 38 species of cormorants and shags.
Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently,
but in the one most commonly used, all but two or three species are placed in a
single genus Phalacrocorax, the exceptions being the Kerguelen
Shag, the Imperial Shag, and (sometimes) the Galapagos' Flightless Cormorant.
NamesThere is no consistent
distinction between cormorants and shags. The names "cormorant" and
"shag" were originally the common names of the two species of the
family found in Great Britain, Phalacrocorax carbo (now referred to by
ornithologists as the Great Cormorant) and P. aristotelis (the Common
Shag). "Shag" refers to the bird's crest, which the British forms of
the Great Cormorant lack. As other species were discovered by English-speaking
sailors and explorers elsewhere in the world, some were called cormorants and
some shags, depending on whether they had crests or not. Sometimes the same
species is called a cormorant in one part of the world and a shag in another,
e.g. the Great Cormorant is called the Black Shag in New Zealand (the birds
found in Australasia have a crest that is absent in European members of the
species). Some modern classifications of the family have divided it into two genera
and have tried to attach the name "Cormorant" to one and
"Shag" to the other, but this flies in the face of common usage and
has not been widely adopted.
The scientific genus name
is latinized Ancient Greek, from phalakros (bald) and korax
(raven). "Cormorant" is a contraction derived from Latin corvus
marinus, "sea raven". Indeed, "sea raven" or analogous
terms were the usual terms for cormorants in Germanic languages until after the
Middle Ages, and the erroneous belief that these birds were related to ravens
lasted at least to the 16th century:
"...le bec semblable à
celuy d'un cormaran, ou autre corbeau." (...the beak similar to that of a cormorant or other corvids.";
Thevet, 1558).
Characteristics
Cormorants and shags are
medium-to-large seabirds. The majority, including all Northern Hemisphere
species, have mainly dark plumage, but some Southern Hemisphere species are
black and white, and a few (e.g. the Spotted Shag of New Zealand) are quite
colourful. Many species have areas of coloured skin on the face (the lores and
the gular skin) which can be bright blue, orange, red or yellow, typically
becoming more brightly coloured in the breeding season. The bill is long, thin,
and sharply hooked. Their feet are four-toed and webbed, a distinguishing
feature among the Pelecaniformes order.
They are coastal rather
than oceanic birds, and some have colonised inland waters. They range around
the world, except for the central Pacific islands.
All are fish-eaters, dining
on small eels, fish, and even water snakes. They dive from the surface, though
many species make a characteristic half-jump as they dive, presumably to give
themselves a more streamlined entry into the water. Under water they propel
themselves with their feet. Some cormorant species have been found, using depth
gauges, to dive to depths of as much as 45 metres.
Cormorants
in Beagle Channel
After fishing, cormorants
go ashore, and are frequently seen holding their wings out in the sun; it is
assumed that this is to dry them. Unusually for a water bird, their feathers
are not waterproofed. This may help them dive quickly, since their feathers do
not retain air bubbles.
Cormorants are colonial
nesters, using trees, rocky islets, or cliffs. The eggs are a chalky-blue
colour. There is usually one brood a year. The young are fed through regurgitation.
They typically have deep, ungainly bills, reminiscent of pelicans'.
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cormorant&action=history
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Cormorants |
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Brandt's
Cormorant, Phalacrocorax penicillatus |
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Scientific classification
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Genera |
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The Phalacrocoracidae
family of birds is represented by 38 species of cormorants and shags.
Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently,
but in the one most commonly used, all but two or three species are placed in a
single genus Phalacrocorax, the exceptions being the Kerguelen
Shag, the Imperial Shag, and (sometimes) the Galapagos' Flightless Cormorant.
NamesThere is no consistent
distinction between cormorants and shags. The names "cormorant" and
"shag" were originally the common names of the two species of the
family found in Great Britain, Phalacrocorax carbo (now referred to by
ornithologists as the Great Cormorant) and P. aristotelis (the Common
Shag). "Shag" refers to the bird's crest, which the British forms of
the Great Cormorant lack. As other species were discovered by English-speaking
sailors and explorers elsewhere in the world, some were called cormorants and
some shags, depending on whether they had crests or not. Sometimes the same
species is called a cormorant in one part of the world and a shag in another,
e.g. the Great Cormorant is called the Black Shag in New Zealand (the birds
found in Australasia have a crest that is absent in European members of the
species). Some modern classifications of the family have divided it into two genera
and have tried to attach the name "Cormorant" to one and
"Shag" to the other, but this flies in the face of common usage and
has not been widely adopted.
The scientific genus name
is latinized Ancient Greek, from phalakros (bald) and korax
(raven). "Cormorant" is a contraction derived from Latin corvus
marinus, "sea raven". Indeed, "sea raven" or analogous
terms were the usual terms for cormorants in Germanic languages until after the
Middle Ages, and the erroneous belief that these birds were related to ravens
lasted at least to the 16th century:
"...le bec semblable à
celuy d'un cormaran, ou autre corbeau." (...the beak similar to that of a cormorant or other corvids.";
Thevet, 1558).
Characteristics
Cormorants and shags are
medium-to-large seabirds. The majority, including all Northern Hemisphere
species, have mainly dark plumage, but some Southern Hemisphere species are
black and white, and a few (e.g. the Spotted Shag of New Zealand) are quite
colourful. Many species have areas of coloured skin on the face (the lores and
the gular skin) which can be bright blue, orange, red or yellow, typically
becoming more brightly coloured in the breeding season. The bill is long, thin,
and sharply hooked. Their feet are four-toed and webbed, a distinguishing
feature among the Pelecaniformes order.
They are coastal rather
than oceanic birds, and some have colonised inland waters. They range around
the world, except for the central Pacific islands.
All are fish-eaters, dining
on small eels, fish, and even water snakes. They dive from the surface, though
many species make a characteristic half-jump as they dive, presumably to give
themselves a more streamlined entry into the water. Under water they propel
themselves with their feet. Some cormorant species have been found, using depth
gauges, to dive to depths of as much as 45 metres.
Cormorants
in Beagle Channel
After fishing, cormorants
go ashore, and are frequently seen holding their wings out in the sun; it is
assumed that this is to dry them. Unusually for a water bird, their feathers
are not waterproofed. This may help them dive quickly, since their feathers do
not retain air bubbles.
Cormorants are colonial
nesters, using trees, rocky islets, or cliffs. The eggs are a chalky-blue
colour. There is usually one brood a year. The young are fed through regurgitation.
They typically have deep, ungainly bills, reminiscent of pelicans'.
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cormorant&action=history
There is no consistent
distinction between cormorants and shags. The names "cormorant" and
"shag" were originally the common names of the two species of the
family found in Great Britain, Phalacrocorax carbo (now referred to by
ornithologists as the Great Cormorant) and P. aristotelis (the Common
Shag). "Shag" refers to the bird's crest, which the British forms of
the Great Cormorant lack. As other species were discovered by English-speaking
sailors and explorers elsewhere in the world, some were called cormorants and
some shags, depending on whether they had crests or not. Sometimes the same
species is called a cormorant in one part of the world and a shag in another,
e.g. the Great Cormorant is called the Black Shag in New Zealand (the birds
found in Australasia have a crest that is absent in European members of the
species). Some modern classifications of the family have divided it into two genera
and have tried to attach the name "Cormorant" to one and
"Shag" to the other, but this flies in the face of common usage and
has not been widely adopted.
The scientific genus name
is latinized Ancient Greek, from phalakros (bald) and korax
(raven). "Cormorant" is a contraction derived from Latin corvus
marinus, "sea raven". Indeed, "sea raven" or analogous
terms were the usual terms for cormorants in Germanic languages until after the
Middle Ages, and the erroneous belief that these birds were related to ravens
lasted at least to the 16th century:
"...le bec semblable à
celuy d'un cormaran, ou autre corbeau." (...the beak similar to that of a cormorant or other corvids.";
Thevet, 1558).
Characteristics
Cormorants and shags are
medium-to-large seabirds. The majority, including all Northern Hemisphere
species, have mainly dark plumage, but some Southern Hemisphere species are
black and white, and a few (e.g. the Spotted Shag of New Zealand) are quite
colourful. Many species have areas of coloured skin on the face (the lores and
the gular skin) which can be bright blue, orange, red or yellow, typically
becoming more brightly coloured in the breeding season. The bill is long, thin,
and sharply hooked. Their feet are four-toed and webbed, a distinguishing
feature among the Pelecaniformes order.
They are coastal rather
than oceanic birds, and some have colonised inland waters. They range around
the world, except for the central Pacific islands.
All are fish-eaters, dining
on small eels, fish, and even water snakes. They dive from the surface, though
many species make a characteristic half-jump as they dive, presumably to give
themselves a more streamlined entry into the water. Under water they propel
themselves with their feet. Some cormorant species have been found, using depth
gauges, to dive to depths of as much as 45 metres.
Cormorants
in Beagle Channel
After fishing, cormorants
go ashore, and are frequently seen holding their wings out in the sun; it is
assumed that this is to dry them. Unusually for a water bird, their feathers
are not waterproofed. This may help them dive quickly, since their feathers do
not retain air bubbles.
Cormorants are colonial
nesters, using trees, rocky islets, or cliffs. The eggs are a chalky-blue
colour. There is usually one brood a year. The young are fed through regurgitation.
They typically have deep, ungainly bills, reminiscent of pelicans'.