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Pelagic cormorant
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Pelagic cormorant
The pelagic cormorant (Urile pelagicus), also known as Baird's cormorant or violet-green cormorant, is a small member of the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. Analogous to other smallish cormorants, it is also called the pelagic shag occasionally. This seabird lives along the coasts of the northern Pacific; during winter it can also be found in the open ocean. Pelagic cormorants have relatively short wings due to their need for economical movement underwater, and consequently have the highest flight costs of any bird.
It was formerly classified in the genus Phalacrocorax, but a 2014 study supported reclassifying it and several other Pacific cormorant species into the genus Urile. The IOC followed this classification in 2021.
This is a smallish cormorant which measures 25 to 35 in (64 to 89 cm) in length, with a wingspan of about 3.3 ft (1.0 m) and a weight of 52–86 oz (1,500–2,400 g) when fully grown. Adults in nonbreeding plumage are all-black with a metallic iridescence. In breeding plumage they grow two short crests (one on top of the head and one at the nape), white thighs, and scattered white filoplumes on the head and neck. The long thin bill and the large feet with all-webbed toes are black throughout the year, while the patch of dark naked skin below the eye turns a vivid magenta in the breeding season.
Males and females do not differ in appearance, though the latter is a bit smaller. Immature birds lack iridescence and are dark brown, grading into slightly lighter brown on the underside.
The widely sympatric red-faced cormorant (U. urile) looks very similar. Breeding adults are easily told apart by the amount of naked facial skin, which does not noticeably extend beyond the eye in U. pelagicus, but extends to above the bill and above and behind the eye in U. urile; the latter species also has larger crests. Juveniles and nonbreeding adults of the two species are often indistinguishable even to trained observers when in mixed flocks, or if they cannot be observed up close. In the former case, the large naked face "mask" and light bill of U. urile can be easily recognized, in the latter case its larger size (though male pelagic cormorants can be as large as female red-faced cormorants). Unlike the red-faced cormorant, the present species usually calls out before taking off, particularly during the breeding season. In courtship display, nest material is typically torn and moved about (which U. urile might not do) and the males apparently do not bow their heads before the females as U. urile males do. Other North Pacific cormorants and shags are larger, with a thicker bill, and/or lack the white thighs in breeding plumage.
The pelagic cormorant inhabits the shores and the neritic zone of the North Pacific. Its North American range extends from Alaska to the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It furthermore is found on the Aleutian and other Bering Strait islands, and from the Russian Far East Chukchi Peninsula via Sakhalin south to Kamchatka, and ultimately Kyūshū (though not the rest of Japan). The subarctic populations are migratory, while the birds from temperate and subtropical regions only disperse locally after breeding, but even so Asian birds may reach China or Korea. Vagrants have been recorded in the Hawaiian Islands.
On land, pelagic cormorants are rather clumsy and walk with the high-stepped waddling gait typical for all Sulae except darters; after landing they often scratch the ground, as is typical for cormorants. When they feel threatened, they will dart their bills at the intruder, and shake their heads and make a gargling noise. This bird forages by swimming to locate prey, then diving and going after it underwater, propelled by its feet and steering with the wings. It can dive as deep as 140 ft (43 m) to feed on or near the seafloor. Typical hunting grounds are sheltered inlets and bays; especially outside the breeding season they can also be seen fishing out at sea. They prefer to hunt in the vicinity of kelp beds or among rocks. Typical prey are smallish, bottom-living non-schooling fishes, such as Ammodytes sand eels, sculpins (Cottidae), gunnels (Pholidae) and Sebastes (rockfish). Apart from fish, small crustaceans – in particular shrimp – are also often eaten. It has been observed to join mixed-species feeding flocks going after schools of young Pacific herrings (Clupea pallasii). Like all cormorants, due to their vestigial uropygial gland their plumage is not waterproof. Thus, the birds return to a safe place after foraging to preen and dry their feathers, typically adopting a spread-winged posture.
The pelagic cormorant breeds on rocky shores and islands. They do not form large colonies, but smaller groups may nest together. In some cases these birds alternate between two or three nesting sites in a region from one year to another. The nest is built at the cliff face, usually on ledges, less often in crevices or caves. The nest is built from stringy plants, such as grasses or seaweed, and held together by the birds' own guano. Once the birds have found a nest site they like, they tend to remain faithful to it for the rest of their lives. The nest is repaired and improved in each season if need be; it can thus grow up to 5 ft (1.5 m) deep.
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Pelagic cormorant
The pelagic cormorant (Urile pelagicus), also known as Baird's cormorant or violet-green cormorant, is a small member of the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. Analogous to other smallish cormorants, it is also called the pelagic shag occasionally. This seabird lives along the coasts of the northern Pacific; during winter it can also be found in the open ocean. Pelagic cormorants have relatively short wings due to their need for economical movement underwater, and consequently have the highest flight costs of any bird.
It was formerly classified in the genus Phalacrocorax, but a 2014 study supported reclassifying it and several other Pacific cormorant species into the genus Urile. The IOC followed this classification in 2021.
This is a smallish cormorant which measures 25 to 35 in (64 to 89 cm) in length, with a wingspan of about 3.3 ft (1.0 m) and a weight of 52–86 oz (1,500–2,400 g) when fully grown. Adults in nonbreeding plumage are all-black with a metallic iridescence. In breeding plumage they grow two short crests (one on top of the head and one at the nape), white thighs, and scattered white filoplumes on the head and neck. The long thin bill and the large feet with all-webbed toes are black throughout the year, while the patch of dark naked skin below the eye turns a vivid magenta in the breeding season.
Males and females do not differ in appearance, though the latter is a bit smaller. Immature birds lack iridescence and are dark brown, grading into slightly lighter brown on the underside.
The widely sympatric red-faced cormorant (U. urile) looks very similar. Breeding adults are easily told apart by the amount of naked facial skin, which does not noticeably extend beyond the eye in U. pelagicus, but extends to above the bill and above and behind the eye in U. urile; the latter species also has larger crests. Juveniles and nonbreeding adults of the two species are often indistinguishable even to trained observers when in mixed flocks, or if they cannot be observed up close. In the former case, the large naked face "mask" and light bill of U. urile can be easily recognized, in the latter case its larger size (though male pelagic cormorants can be as large as female red-faced cormorants). Unlike the red-faced cormorant, the present species usually calls out before taking off, particularly during the breeding season. In courtship display, nest material is typically torn and moved about (which U. urile might not do) and the males apparently do not bow their heads before the females as U. urile males do. Other North Pacific cormorants and shags are larger, with a thicker bill, and/or lack the white thighs in breeding plumage.
The pelagic cormorant inhabits the shores and the neritic zone of the North Pacific. Its North American range extends from Alaska to the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It furthermore is found on the Aleutian and other Bering Strait islands, and from the Russian Far East Chukchi Peninsula via Sakhalin south to Kamchatka, and ultimately Kyūshū (though not the rest of Japan). The subarctic populations are migratory, while the birds from temperate and subtropical regions only disperse locally after breeding, but even so Asian birds may reach China or Korea. Vagrants have been recorded in the Hawaiian Islands.
On land, pelagic cormorants are rather clumsy and walk with the high-stepped waddling gait typical for all Sulae except darters; after landing they often scratch the ground, as is typical for cormorants. When they feel threatened, they will dart their bills at the intruder, and shake their heads and make a gargling noise. This bird forages by swimming to locate prey, then diving and going after it underwater, propelled by its feet and steering with the wings. It can dive as deep as 140 ft (43 m) to feed on or near the seafloor. Typical hunting grounds are sheltered inlets and bays; especially outside the breeding season they can also be seen fishing out at sea. They prefer to hunt in the vicinity of kelp beds or among rocks. Typical prey are smallish, bottom-living non-schooling fishes, such as Ammodytes sand eels, sculpins (Cottidae), gunnels (Pholidae) and Sebastes (rockfish). Apart from fish, small crustaceans – in particular shrimp – are also often eaten. It has been observed to join mixed-species feeding flocks going after schools of young Pacific herrings (Clupea pallasii). Like all cormorants, due to their vestigial uropygial gland their plumage is not waterproof. Thus, the birds return to a safe place after foraging to preen and dry their feathers, typically adopting a spread-winged posture.
The pelagic cormorant breeds on rocky shores and islands. They do not form large colonies, but smaller groups may nest together. In some cases these birds alternate between two or three nesting sites in a region from one year to another. The nest is built at the cliff face, usually on ledges, less often in crevices or caves. The nest is built from stringy plants, such as grasses or seaweed, and held together by the birds' own guano. Once the birds have found a nest site they like, they tend to remain faithful to it for the rest of their lives. The nest is repaired and improved in each season if need be; it can thus grow up to 5 ft (1.5 m) deep.
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