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Brandt’s Cormorant

Urile penicillatus

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Family: Phalacrocoracidae

ID BASICS
Size: Length 34 inches; wingspan ~4 feet; slightly smaller than a goose

Key Field Marks:

  • All-black body with a long, slender neck
  • Bright blue throat pouch during breeding season
  • Long, hooked bill
  • Matte black plumage (nonbreeding); glossy with iridescence in breeding adults

Flight:

  • Direct, low flight over water
  • Rapid wingbeats with brief glides
  • Often seen in loose lines or single file along the coast
  • A photo of a Brandt's Cormorant on Alcatraz Island.
    A Brandt's Cormorant at Alcatraz Island. Jessica Weinberg McClosky / Parks Conservancy
  • A close up photo of two Brandts Cormorants, showing their stark blue eyes.
    The Brandts Cormorant is known for these beautifully stark blue eyes. Jessica Weinberg McClosky / Parks Conservancy
  • A scenic view of a concrete landing on Alcatraz that is occupied by a massive flock of Brandts Cormorants.
    The Cormorants can frequently be spotted in huge flocks at Alcatraz. Frank Morse / NPS
  • Double-crested Cormorants perched on a wooden pier posts in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
    Double-crested Cormorants perched by the water. Will Elder / NPS

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