Cormorants and Darters

Cormorants belong to the Phalacrocoracidae family and Darters to Anhingidae, see Taxonomy note. This page features a gallery for each family and images depict behaviours in both salt and freshwater environments.

Cormorants and Darters

Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) male at La Vaga Lakes in Trinidad

Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) male at Yellow Water Region in Northern Territories

Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) female at Yellow Water Region in Northern Territories

Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) immature male at Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, Northern Territories

Great Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius) at Kaikoura Peninsula in New Zealand

Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) at Yellow Water Region in Northern Territories

Little Pied Cormorant, White-throated morph (Microcarbo melanoleucos brevirostris) drying out at Okarito Wetland on New Zealand's West Coast — Little Pied Cormorant, White-throated morph (Microcarbo melanoleucos brevirostris) drying out at Okarito Wetland on New Zealand’s West Coast

Spotted Shag (Phalacrocorax punctatus) in non-breeding plumage at Taiaroa Head on Otago Peninsula in New Zealand

Spotted Shag (Phalacrocorax punctatus) immature at Taiaroa Head on Otago Peninsula in New Zealand

Spotted Shag (Phalacrocorax punctatus) juvenile on driftwood at Moeraki Boulders Beach in Otago, New Zealand

Australian Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo novaehollandiae) perched at Gippsland Lakes

Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) at Lakes Entrance in Gippsland, Australia

Stewart Shag (Phalacrocorax chalconotus) pale morph and chicks in breeding colony at Taiaroa Head on Otago Peninsular in New Zealand

Flightless Cormorant (Nannopterum harrisi) on rocks at Elizabeth Bay on Isabela Island

Cormorant and Darter Notes

Apart from the Stewart Shag which is ‘Red List 2019’ assessed as ‘Vulnerable’ all other featured species are ‘Least Concern’. The Stewart and Spotted Shags are NZ endemics. In New Zealand, the Pied Cormorant is called the Little Shag.

Anhinga and cormorants, including shags, are medium to large birds. They do not have waterproof plumage, so they sit low in the water; the lack of buoyancy allows them to dive deep in search of prey. Cormorants congregate in groups while shags are more solitary coastal birds.

Little Shags have variable plumage including black (dark morph) and white-throated morph as featured in the gallery.

Cormorant Behaviour

Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) drying out at Lakes Entrance in Gippsland, Australia

Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) fishing at Camden Haven Inlet in NSW

Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) about to swallow fish at Camden Haven Inlet in NSW

Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) swallowing fish at Camden Haven Inlet in NSW

Great Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius) preening at Kaikoura Peninsula in New Zealand

Great Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius) drying wings at Kaikoura Peninsula in New Zealand

Flightless Cormorant (Nannopterum harrisi) swimming at Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island

Flightless Cormorant (Nannopterum harrisi) drying out at Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island

Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) fishing at Wall Reserve in North Haven, NSW

Stewart Shag (Phalacrocorax chalconotus) chicks, pale and black morphs in breeding colony at Taiaroa Head on Otago Peninsular

Stewart Shag (Phalacrocorax chalconotus) breeding colony at Taiaroa Head on Otago Peninsular

Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) flock perched in tree at Anbangbang Billabong in Kakadu National Park

Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) and Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) perched at Lakes Entrance

Cormorant Behaviour Notes

Cormorants are cosmopolitan birds found mainly in temperate and tropical regions.

The gallery displays a short photo essay of a Little Pied Cormorant fishing and swallowing its captured prey. I photographed this bird at Campden Inlet in New South Wales together with a bird drying out at Lakes Entrance in Australia.

Included in the gallery are other images that show various behaviours, such as cormorants drying out and preening. One of the Flightless Cormorant images shows a bird drying out; compared with other species wings it’s not difficult to see why it can’t fly. For size comparison, I’ve included an image showing an Australian Pelican and a Little Black Cormorant.

Darter Behaviour

Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) male preening feathers at Yellow Water in Kakadu National Park

Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) immature male drying out feathers at Yellow Water in Kakadu National Park

Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) immature male drying out feathers at Yellow Water in Northern Territories

Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) young bird drying out feathers at Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, Northern Territories

Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) female drying out at Yellow Water in Kakadu National Park

Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) female calling at Yellow Water in Kakadu National Park

Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) female drying out at Yellow Water in Northern Territories

Australasian Darter male perched in same tree as White-bellied Sea Eagle at Yellow Water in Kakadu National Park

Darter Behaviour Notes

Images show a male, female, immature (juvenile) and young Australasian Darters pruning and drying out. I photographed the birds at two locations: Kakadu National Park and Fogg Dam in Australia’s Northern Territories. One image shows a predator (White-bellied Sea Eagle) and potential prey (Australasian Darter) perched in the same tree at Kakadu. The eagle had been fishing so probably not interested in the darter. In Singapore, I’ve seen these eagles attack and try to take grey herons which are slightly larger and heavier than Australasian Darters.

Cormorant and Darter Taxonomy

The Core Waterbirds Webpage describes the higher-level taxonomy for Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae) and Darters (Anhingidae), in Suliformes order, part of the Aequornithes (Core Waterbirds) clade.