Braggart of Bharatpur: Indian Cormorant

Indian Cormorant

(Nikon D5600, 200-500mm lens; 1/500, f/5.6, ISO125; hand-held)

Indian Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis), also called Indian Shag, is intermediate in size among the three resident cormorants of India. It has a lean body structure with a slender neck and a long tail. Head is small and oval with a sloping forehead, bluish-green eyes and a long, slim hooked beak. Breeding bird has a glossy black coat and a short white tuft over the ears. Non-breeding bird has a brownish plumage, yellow gular skin and some white on the throat. Like all cormorants, it is seen swimming with its head above the water while the body is fully submerged and it may disappear underwater, now and then, to catch fish. Indian Cormorants are observed to do communal fishing where they form a broad front to trap a shoal into a corner and then dive in and feed on them.