Great cormorant

Scientific name: Phalacrocorax carbo

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

Large, dark waterbird with glossy black plumage, white thigh patches visible in breeding season, and a long kinked neck. Distinctive white head patch appears during breeding; juveniles show brownish plumage with lighter underparts.

Size and weight

Adults weigh 2.5–3.5 kg, with body length 70–102 cm; males slightly larger than females.

Habitat

Great cormorants inhabit coastal and inland waterways including estuaries, large lakes, reservoirs, and river systems. They favour areas with accessible fish stocks and nearby rocky outcrops, cliffs, or trees for roosting and nesting.

Distribution

Widespread across Eurasia from Greenland to Japan, with populations in Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa. Prefer temperate and boreal zones near productive water systems.

Diet

Primarily fish-eaters consuming eels, pike, perch, trout, and flatfish; diet varies seasonally based on local fish availability and water temperature.

Behaviour

Largely diurnal, diving hunters often seen in small flocks during feeding. Highly social at roosts and breeding colonies; spend mornings and late afternoons actively fishing, with midday resting on rocks or trees with wings spread to dry plumage.

Hunting tips

Look for roosting birds perched upright on rocks, buoys, or tree snags; white guano deposits mark regular rest sites. Approach from downwind across open water using boat or shoreline cover during dawn and dusk feeding periods. Wait at known fishing grounds where birds surface predictably; movement is fastest in shallow water and narrow channels.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 3 countries in Huntify.

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.