Reed Cormorant

The reed cormorant is best identified by its mainly black plumage glossed with green, paired with silvery wing coverts that create a distinctive two-toned look during the breeding season. It measures 50 to 55 centimeters in length, with a wingspan of 80 to 90 centimeters and a weight around 0.545 kg.

Its longish tail and short head crest give it a slightly unkempt silhouette compared to larger cormorants, while a red or yellow face patch and yellow bill add color to an otherwise dark bird. The sexes look alike.

Non-breeding adults and juveniles are browner overall and show a white belly, contrasting with the glossy black of breeding adults. Some southern populations keep their crest year-round rather than losing it outside the breeding season.

The reed cormorant occupies an enormous range, estimated at 17,500,000 square kilometers, spanning most of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It favors freshwater wetlands for breeding, and also uses quiet coastal waters.

It is described as common and widespread rather than restricted to particular strongholds, fitting an open habitat density across its African range.

Monthly observation counts show relatively steady presence through the year, with somewhat higher figures from October through January and a dip in the middle of the year, consistent with its sedentary lifestyle and only modest seasonal movement rather than a dramatic migration pattern.

The reed cormorant is a sedentary, aquatic bird that spends much of its life around shallow water, where it hunts by diving. Although capable of reaching considerable depths, it typically feeds in shallow water and frequently brings its prey back to the surface before eating it.

Its hunting style favors small, slow-moving fish with long, tapering bodies, such as mormyrids, catfishes, and cichlids, though soles, frogs, aquatic invertebrates, and even small birds are taken less often. Soles can become locally important in its diet in certain areas.

Breeding behavior includes laying two to four eggs in a nest built in a tree or directly on the ground, usually concealed within long grass to protect the eggs and young from view.

1. The species is also known as the long-tailed cormorant, a name referencing its longish tail relative to its small body size.
2. It was first scientifically described by J. F. Gmelin in 1789 under the name Halietor africanus, before later being placed in the genus Microcarbo.
3. It has been the subject of numerous African field studies and literature surveys over the decades, appearing in ornithological records from West and Central Africa.