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To the Beauty of Birds

There are three different cormorants along the Oregon coast – the Double-crested, Brant’s and Pelagic. The double crested is more inland while the other two are sea birds, close to or in the ocean. The can be distinguished by the color of their gullet (lower jaw).

The Double-crested Cormorant has a prominent yellow gullet extending well past its ears and easily visible form a distance.

The Brant’s Cormorant has a much smaller yellow patch at the base of its lower jaw, sometimes easy to miss.

The Pelagic Cormorant Phalacrocorax pelagicus has no yellow patch. Its neck and bill are thinner than for the other two cormorants. Another distinctive feature is the white spot rear the rump seen when the adult breeding bird is in flight (8101, 8109).

Figure 8980 was taken on Anacapa Island and shows a Brant's and a Pelagic (right) Cormorant next to each other. The smaller size and much thinner beak of the Pelagic is well shown.

Pelagic Cormorant

Pelagic Comorant 0504

Pelagic Cormorant 1312

Pelagic Cormorant 1393B

Pelagic Cormorant 31393

Pelagic Cormorant 8101

Pelagic Cormorant 8109

Pelagic Cormorant with fish 1333

Pelagic Cormorant 0234

Pelagic and Brandt's Cormorant 8980