What is a Double Breasted Cormorant?

The double breasted cormorants are popularly called the Double Crested Cormorants, which have a wing span of four feet. It has a long hooked bill, the color of the feathers are black and brown. It has an orange throat pouch, webbed black feet, and a long tail. The male and the female double breasted cormorants look alike. Adults develop double crest of two tufts generally white, curving back from behind their eyes during the time of breeding. The other names of these cormorants are Crow-duck, the Farallon cormorant, Florida cormorant, Lawyer cormorant, white crested cormorant and the Taunton Turkey cormorant.

This is the only cormorant which is found in the interior of United States and Canada. It also breeds in the coast of Alaska, Nova Scotia and south of Mexico and the Bahamas. In winters, these double breasted cormorants are found in the south part of Alaska and New England.

The habitat of these Double Breasted Cormorants is mostly in the salty and freshwater lakes, rivers, swamps, bay, coast and reservoirs. A few are spotted in the MacFarlane reservoir in North Park, Antero Reservoir in South Park and East Dale Reservoir in San Luis Valley. In winters they move to Mexico or Texas but few move to Colorado. Since they live in lakes the main food in which they feed is fish. Double breasted cormorants also catch marine invertebrates like salamanders, spider crabs, shrimp, crayfish, some reptiles, sea worms and some mollusks along the water's surface. After catching the fish, these birds surfaces and flips the fish in the air and swallows the head first.