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Double-crested cormorant

Nannopterum auritum · Cormorants

Double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum): Blackish all over with orange bare skin on the face and throat extending to the lores; 76-89 cm. Breeding western birds show white head tufts, absent on eastern birds. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the double-crested cormorant map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Double-crested cormorant flying low over water
Photo by Jeremy Hynes on Unsplash
Scientific name
Nannopterum auritum
Family
Phalacrocoracidae
In North America
Native
Range
Breeds from southeastern Bering Sea and southern Alaska and from southern British Columbia east through Manitoba to coastal Quebec and Newfoundland, south to Baja California, the Gulf Coast, Florida and Belize; breeding range has expanded.
Biology

How to identify it

Blackish all over with orange bare skin on the face and throat extending to the lores; 76-89 cm. [1][2]

Breeding western birds show white head tufts, absent on eastern birds. [1][2]

Immatures brownish, paler on the foreneck and chest, often fading to whitish there. [1][2]

In flight the neck is held with a slight crook behind the head; most cormorants look straight-necked. [1][2]

Compared with the great cormorant: Larger and bulkier with a broad white band across the throat, dull yellow (not orange) throat pouch and, when breeding, white flank patches. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a double-crested cormorant before you act. Compared with the great cormorant: Larger and bulkier with a broad white band across the throat, dull yellow (not orange) throat pouch and, when breeding, white flank patches.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Very adaptable; almost any aquatic habitat from rocky northern coasts to mangrove swamps, large reservoirs and small inland ponds. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Forages by diving from the surface and swimming underwater propelled by the feet, singly or in groups [1][2]

Eats a wide variety of fish, also crabs, shrimp, crayfish, frogs, salamanders and eels [1][2]

Deep guttural grunts; nests in trees near or over water, on sea cliffs or on island ground [1][2]

Most are migratory, in flocks often following coastlines or rivers [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Breeds from southeastern Bering Sea and southern Alaska and from southern British Columbia east through Manitoba to coastal Quebec and Newfoundland, south to Baja California, the Gulf Coast, Florida and Belize; breeding range has expanded.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. National Audubon Society · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Audubon Society

  2. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe