Microcarbo coronatus
The Crowned Cormorant (Microcarbo coronatus) is a small, slender marine bird, endemic to the coasts of Southern Africa. Adults typically measure around 50-55 cm in length with a wingspan of approximately 80-90 cm and weigh between 600-800 grams. Its plumage is entirely glossy black, often appearing greenish-black in certain lights, with a distinctive small, shaggy crest on its crown during the breeding season, which gives it its common name. Other key field marks include a dark, slender bill ...
This species primarily inhabits shallow, inshore marine waters, preferring rocky coastlines, sheltered bays, and offshore islands with abundant kelp beds for foraging and roosting.
Their diet consists mainly of small, benthic fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods, which they catch by diving and pursuing prey underwater.
Crowned Cormorants are diurnal foragers, spending their nights in communal roosts on cliffs, rocky outcrops, or man-made structures like jetties. Their foraging strategy involves pursuit diving, using their powerful webbed feet for propulsion to catch prey underwater, often remaining submerged fo...
The Crowned Cormorant is strictly endemic to the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the Benguela Current system along the southwestern coast of Africa. Its breeding and non-breeding range extends from southern Namibia, specifically from around Lüderitz, southwards along the entire coast of South Afric...
Endangered
- The Crowned Cormorant is the smallest cormorant species found along the southwestern coast of Africa. - Its scientific name, *coronatus*, directly refers to the small, shaggy crest visible on its head, particularly during breeding season. - Like many cormorants, it possesses less oil in its fea...