Great Cormorant

Cormorant is the word from Medieval Latin: corvus marina means "sea raven". It comes from Middle English cormeraunt (“great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo); other types of aquatic bird”), from Old French cormaran, cor-maraunt [and other forms] (modern French cormoran), possibly variants of *corp-marin, from Medieval Latin corvus marīnus (literally “sea-raven”), with the ending -morant possibly derived from French moran (“marine, maritime”), from Breton mor (“sea”), with -an corrupted in English to -ant. Latin corvus is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *ḱorh₂wós (“raven”), which is imitative of the harsh cry of the bird; while marīnus (“of or pertaining to the sea, marine”) is from Latin mare (“sea”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *móri (“sea; standing water”), possibly from *mer- (“sea; lake; wetland”)) + -īnus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’).

• Singular: cormorant

• Plural: cormorants

The bird's other name was shag, meaning with reference to the bird's shaggy crest. But it was from Middle English *schagge, from Old English sċeacga (“hair, wool”), from Proto-Germanic *skaggô, *skaggiją (“projection, bristly hair, stem”), *skag- (“to emerge, stick out, protrude”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kek- (“to jump, move, hurry”). Akin to Old Norse skegg (“beard”) (compare Danish skæg, Norwegian skjegg, Swedish skägg). Related to shake and shock via the root.

• Singular: shag

• Plural: shags

The great cormorant is a large black bird, but there is a wide variation in size in the species' wide range. It has a longish tail and a yellow throat patch. Adults have white patches on the thighs and on the throat in the breeding season. There are larger sizes, heavier builds, thicker bills, a lack of a crest, and plumage without any green tinge. A very rare variation of the great cormorant is caused by albinism. The great cormorant albino suffers from poor eyesight and/or hearing; thus, it rarely manages to survive in the wild.

Phalacrocorax carbo carbo, also known as the Atlantic great cormorant, is a nominate subspecies of great cormorant that is large, robust, and has white spots on its thighs during the breeding season.

The Phalacrocoracidae family, which has roughly 40 species worldwide, includes great cormorants. European shag (Gulosus aristotelis), Japanese cormorant (Phalacrocorax capillatus), Double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum), and others are close relatives. Cormorants are closely related to frigatebirds, gannets, boobies, and anhingas or snakebirds. They split off from other seabirds tens of millions of years ago.

Great cormorants are remarkable divers since they can dive up to 45 meters and for 30 to 70 seconds. They also have excellent underwater vision and are propelled by powerful webbed feet rather than wings. Their feathers are less waterproof than those of most seabirds, which decreases buoyancy and increases diving efficiency but necessitates wing-drying afterwards.

It has some dark element energy stored in its body, which is why it is frequently dark-elemental even if it has never used it for a fight. Some scientists depict the Great Cormorant as a bird that employs defensive vomiting to ward off predators, whether it is on land, in the air, or in the water.

The great cormorant feeds on fish caught through diving. This bird feeds primarily on both freshwater and saltwater, like wrasses, gobies, smelts, soles, flatheads, sardines, carp, flying fish, and others. Great cormorants often nest in colonies near wetlands, rivers, and sheltered inshore waters. Pairs will use the same nest site to breed year after year. These nests were safe and away from predators due to their limited altitude. The Great Cormorant lays a clutch of three to five eggs.

Fishermen see in the great cormorant a competitor for fish. Some of these were pests in the past until the conservationists got the chance to share them between fishermen and cormorants due to a piscivorous diet.

In this practice, fishermen tie a line around the throats of cormorants, tight enough to prevent swallowing the larger fish they catch, and deploy them from small boats. The cormorants catch fish without being able to fully swallow them, and the fishermen are able to retrieve the fish simply by forcing open the cormorants' mouths, apparently engaging the regurgitation reflex.

Reproduction

• Monogamous, at least for a breeding season.

• Nest in colonies (trees, cliffs, islands, artificial structures).

• Nest built from sticks, seaweed, or debris.

• Breeding details:

  1. Clutch size: 2–5 eggs

  2. Incubation: ~28–31 days

  3. Chicks hatch naked and helpless

  4. Parents feed chicks by regurgitation

  5. Young fledge at about 7–8 weeks.

Outside of feeding, great cormorants are very gregarious, aggressive at nesting sites, and have strong site fidelity—they return to the same colony every year. Because it will nest close to cities, ports, bridges, and fish farms, this cormorant was generally cautious but tolerant and did not act aggressively toward humans. Although it might become accustomed to people, the great cormorant is not "friendly" in the sense of a pet. Unless they are too close for comfort, these cormorants are happy to disregard animals and survivors. Before running away, they will bite any survivor who comes into contact with them.

Threats

• Persecution due to fishery conflicts

• Habitat destruction

• Entanglement in fishing gear

• Pollution and oil spills

• Disturbance at breeding sites

Conservation Status

• IUCN Red List: Least Concern (LC)

Conservation Efforts

• Habitat protection.

• Anti-poaching enforcement.

• Rescue and rehabilitation centers.

• Awareness campaigns against illegal pet trade.

This is a very common and widespread bird species. It feeds on the sea, in estuaries, and on freshwater lakes and rivers. Great Cormorant found worldwide, including the Philippines to Aotearoa to Britain, elsewhere.

During The Recollections of Queen Arianna (TROQA) saga in the 2600s and 2700s, the "Sky People," or Terrans from Earth, brought the great cormorant to two exoplanets that resembled Earth: Berbania from Ursa Major and Reinachos from Cygnus. Despite the death of our planet, conservation efforts are helping this species recover from endangerment or near extinction. The cormorant became an invasive species as a result of human interactions for game hunting and rewilding. In two exoplanets that resembled Earth, the great cormorant lived in conditions and climates identical to those of Earth.

• Movement Pattern: Full Migrant

• Individual Type: Solo and Gather

• Population Trend: Increasing

• Population: ???

• Habitat System: Versatile

• Habitat: Taiga; Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests; Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Salt Flats; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Graveyard Vale; Mountain; Sky; Warm River; Cold River; Lukewarm River; Warm Littoral; Cold Littoral; Warm Intertidal; Cold Intertidal; Radiated Citadel; Volcano; Warm Ghost Town; Cold Ghost Town; Ruined Skyscraper.

• Earth: see below

  • Extant (Resident): Albania; Angola; Armenia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bangladesh; Belarus; Belgium; Bermuda; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; Brunei Darussalam; Bulgaria; Burundi; Cambodia; Cameroon; Chad; China; Congo Republic; DR Congo; Croatia; Cyprus; Czechia; Denmark; Egypt; Eritrea; Estonia; Eswatini; Ethiopia; Finland; France; Gambia; Georgia; Germany; Greece; Greenland; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Hungary; Iceland; India; Indonesia (Borneo); Iran; Iraq; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Jordan; Kenya; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait; Latvia; Lebanon; Lesotho; Libya; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Malawi; Moldova; Montenegro; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Netherlands; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Norway; Pakistan; Philippines (Batanes; Babuyan Islands; Cagayan; Ilocos Norte; Isabela); Poland; Romania; Russia (European Russia, Central Asian Russia); Rwanda; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Senegal; Serbia; Slovakia; Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Spain; Sudan; Sweden; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Turkey; Ukraine; United Kingdom; Viet Nam; Zambia; Zimbabwe

  • Extant (Breeding): Afghanistan; Australia; Canada; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Mauritania; Mongolia; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Russia (Eastern Asian Russia); Solomon Islands; Tajikistan; Tanzania; Turkmenistan; Uganda; United States; Uzbekistan; Western Sahara

  • Extant (Non-breeding): Algeria; Bahrain; Bhutan; Faroe Islands; Gibraltar; Hong Kong; Israel; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Malta; Myanmar; Nepal; Oman; Palestine, State of; Portugal; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Slovenia; Sri Lanka; Taiwan, Province of China; Thailand; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen

  • Extant & Vagrant: Benin; Cabo Verde; Christmas Island; Liberia; Liechtenstein; Micronesia, Federated States of ; Norfolk Island; Northern Mariana Islands; Papua New Guinea; Seychelles; Spain (Canary Is.)

  • Extant & Origin Uncertain: Guam

• Berbania: worldwide

• Reinachos: worldwide

Great Cormorant can be pet, you must kill fish and then bring it to the cormorant to tame it.

Coming soon

Earth

• Tagalog: Dakilang kasiri

• Iloko: Dakkel a kasiri

• Cebuano: Kasiri

• Maori: Kawau nui

• Japanese: カワウ, 大きな鵜 (Kawau, Ōkina-u)

• Turkish: Karabatak

• Malti: Margun

• Polish: Kormoran zwyczajny

• Welsh: Mulfrain mawr

• Piemontèisa: Cormoran

• Spanish: Cormorán negro, cormorán grande

• English: Great cormorant, great shag, black shag, great black cormorant, black cormorant, large cormorant

• Scots: Scarf

• West-Vlams: Butstekker

• Zeêuws: Aâlscholver

• Svenska: Storskarv

• Kalaallisut: Oqaatsoq

• Coming soon

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_cormorant

• https://examples.yourdictionary.com/famous-shakespeare-quotes.html#cormorant

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22696792/155523636

• https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25440

• https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/Phalacrocorax_%28Phalacrocorax%29_carbo

• https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Phalacrocorax_carbo

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Great-Cormorant-873706132

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Great-Cormorant-2024-1098500057