Microcarbo niger
The Little Cormorant, Microcarbo niger, is a diminutive and widely distributed waterbird belonging to the family Phalacrocoracidae. Measuring approximately 45-55 cm (18-22 in) in length with a wingspan of 75-90 cm (30-35 in) and weighing around 300-450 g (10.5-16 oz), it is one of the smallest cormorants. Adults exhibit entirely glossy black plumage with a slight greenish sheen, particularly noticeable during the breeding season. A key identification feature in breeding plumage is a small whi...
Primarily inhabits freshwater wetlands, including lakes, ponds, rivers, canals, and flooded rice fields, but also found in coastal estuaries and mangroves. Typically found in low-lying areas up to 1,000 meters in elevation.
Primarily piscivorous, feeding on a wide variety of small to medium-sized fish, including cyprinids and cichlids, caught by diving and underwater pursuit. Also consumes aquatic invertebrates such as crustaceans and insects.
Little Cormorants are highly social, typically foraging, roosting, and nesting in large, often mixed-species, colonies. They are diurnal, spending their days actively diving for fish and roosting communally in trees or on sandbanks at night. Foraging involves agile underwater pursuit of prey, oft...
The Little Cormorant boasts an extensive range across the Old World tropics and subtropics, primarily throughout South and Southeast Asia. Its distribution spans from Pakistan and India eastward through Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra, Borneo, Java, S...
Least Concern
- The Little Cormorant, despite its name, is a highly skilled underwater predator, capable of diving to considerable depths to catch fish. - Unlike most waterbirds, cormorants have wettable feathers, which reduce buoyancy and allow them to dive deeper and with less effort. - After a dive, they fr...