Crowned Cormorant

The Crowned Cormorant, Microcarbo coronatus, is a small cormorant that is endemic to the waters of the cold Benguela Current of southern Africa. It is an exclusively coastal species and is always found at least 10 km away from land. This species is related to the Reed Cormorant, and was formerly considered to the same species.

The Crowned Cormorant is classified as Near Threatened (NT), is close to qualifying for or is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.

The Crowned Cormorant occurs only in Namibia and South Africa, breeding between the Bird Rock Guano Platform in southern Namibia and Quoin Rock, South Africa. They generally occur within 10 km from the coastline, and occasionally in estuaries and sewage works up to 500 m from the sea. Ringing recoveries show that juveniles may disperse up to 277 km from their nests, and adults move between breeding sites over 500 km apart. More

That's what the Crowned Cormorant at Cape Town, South Africa, is doing (left). Cormorants are found almost everywhere that water meets shore. They use traditional sites for roosting, sunning, and nesting. These tend to be on islets, jetties, docks, or drowned trees with a 360 degree view to avoid predators. Cormorants are often easy to see, but they can be quite difficult to approach. More

The Crowned Cormorant, Microcarbo coronatus, is a small cormorant that is endemic to the waters of the cold Benguela Current of southern Africa. It is an exclusively coastal species and is always found at least 10 km (6 mi) away from land. This species is related to the Reed Cormorant, and was formerly considered to the same species. More

The Crowned Cormorant is 50-55 cm in length. Adults are black with a small crest on the head and a red face patch. Young birds are dark brown above, paler brown below, and lack the crest. More

Crowned Cormorants are a marine species and can mostly be found along the west coast. They can use a variety of habitats for nesting. They can be found on islands, coasts and estuaries (generally rare) but usually not further than 10km from land. They can also sometime be found near sewage works up to 500m from the sea. Diet Crowned Cormorants feed in shallow water close to the shore. More