Little Cormorant
A glistening black duck like water bird with a long stiff tail and
skender, compressed bill sharply hooked at the tip. The eyes, gular skin
and face are dark. In the non-breeding bird or juvenile, the plumage is
brownish and the bill and gular skin can appear more fleshy.
Local Names :
Pan Kowwa, Ganhill (Hindi)
Neer Kagam (Tamil)
Kakataravu (Malayalam)
Scientific Name : Phalacrocorax niger
It inhabits wetlands, ranging from small village ponds to large
lakes
Little cormorants tend to forage mainly in small loose groups and are
often seen foraging alone. They swim underwater to capture their prey,
mainly fish. Lives exclusively on fish which it chases and captures under
water.
Like all other cormorants, they will emerge from water and will hold
out their wings and stay immobile for a while. The behaviour has been
suggested to be for wing-drying.
Nest is a shallow twig platform, like a crow's in trees usually in
mixed colonies of egrets, storks etc both near and away from water.
eggs are pale bluish green with a chalky surface. The clutch size can vary from two to six eggs laid at intervals of
about two days. The eggs hatch after 15 to 21 days. The downy chicks
have a bare red head. The young birds are able to leave the nest after
about a month
References
The Book of Indian Birds (Salim Ali)
Wikipedia
Pictures:
Pallikaranai Wetlands (2019)
The pictures are not that sharp as its taken on a rainy day.
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