Great cormorant

    Phalacrocorax carbo

Castilian: Cormorán grande

Catalan: Corb marí gros

Gallego: Corvo mariño grande

Euskera: Ubarroi handia

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Pelecaniformes

Family: Phalacrocoracidae

Migratory status: Winter resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Unlisted” category.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

listen song

THREATS

Although it seems to be spreading out, illegal hunting in winter and disturbances during nesting season are both important problems.

Length / size: 80-100 cm / 130-160 cm

Identification: A large bird, with a long and thick neck and a prominent bill. In adults, plumage is black with a white throat, while in juveniles the white part extends to the breast and belly. They stand out because the base of the lower mandible is yellowish and not covered with feathers. In flight it switches back and forth between gliding and flapping its wings. It is very common to find it perched on rocks or in trees with its wings outstretched in order to dry its feathers.

Song: It makes deep guttural sounds when in its breeding colony, "ghoww-ghow".

Diet: It feeds on large fish that it captures by diving.

Reproduction: It is a colonial species that builds its nests in trees, reedbeds or cliffs if it is a coastal area. The nest is made of plant matter and a layer of feathers, and can be reused year after year. When the chicks hatch, their parents regurgitate their food to them in order to feed them.

HABITAT

It occupies open water areas, both inland and coastal, freshwater and saltwater, as long as they are home to an abundant quantity of fish.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is found in most peninsular provinces during winter, but its principal areas are Andalusia, Extremadura, Castile-La Mancha, Madrid, Navarre, La Rioja and Basque Country.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout all the provinces, but is rarer in Burgos, León, Palencia and Soria.

Movements and migrations: There are two subspecies with different migratory patterns: Carbo is more abundant in the Atlantic and Cantabrian coasts during winter; Sinensis reaches the Mediterranean and even northern Africa.

POPULATION

In Spain: The species has experienced a rapid increase in growth as a wintering species in Spain since the 1980s. The breeding population, although much smaller, is also increasing. In some places, colonies are formed that include more than 60 pairs.

In Castile and León: There is an estimated average population of 1590 wintering specimens.