The CORMORANT, a facinating bird

Near my house there is a creek where many Cormorants live. The fascinating thing about these birds is the fact that they always sit to dry their wings in the sun and wind after a dive. That's why I looked into this typical phenomenon.

Detail

A little more information about this remarkable black bird.

The great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), known as the black shag or kawau in New Zealand, formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds.

British Stamp Booklet from 1968-1970

The great cormorant feeds on fish caught through diving. This bird feeds primarily on wrasses, but it also takes sand smelt, flathead and common soles. The average weight of fish taken by great cormorants increased with decreasing air and water temperature, being 30 g during summer, 109 g during a warm winter and 157 g during the cold winter (all values for non-breeding birds).

This cormorant forages by diving and capturing its prey in its beak. The duration of its dives is around 28 seconds, with the bird diving to depths of about 5.8 metres (19 ft).

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Diving behavior: Cormorants dry their wings before diving for several reasons.

1. Removal of water: Cormorants dive for fish to hunt. By spreading their wings and letting them dry, they remove excess water. This makes them lighter and reduces drag in the water, allowing them to swim and dive more efficiently.

2. Maintenance of Buoyancy: Cormorants have hollow bones and a certain amount of air is trapped in their feathers. Drying their wings helps them maintain buoyancy, allowing them to float better on the surface before diving.

3. Plumage Maintenance: Drying the feathers also helps maintain the quality of the plumage. By regularly cleaning and drying their feathers, cormorants can prevent their feathers from becoming saturated with water, dirt or oil, which would reduce the insulating properties of the plumage.

4. Thermoregulation: Dry plumage helps with thermoregulation. Wet feathers can lead to heat loss, and drying the wings helps cormorants maintain better insulation against the cold.