Red-faced Cormorant

Phalacrocorax urileOrder: PELECANIFORMESFamily: Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae)

General

Red-faced Cormorant: Dark brown to black with variable green and violet iridescence. Bright red face patch, dull bill. Breeding adults develop white patches on flanks and white neck feathers or "plumes." Juvenile is dark brown, with a pale yellow-gray bill.

Range and Habitat

Red-faced Cormorant: Range in North America restricted to coastal Alaska. Prefers rocky coasts for both feeding and breeding habitat.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"berr awkkkkk"

Interesting Facts

The Red-faced Cormorant is also known as the Red-faced Shag or Violet Shag.
It is the least gregarious of all cormorants, nesting on steep, inaccessible cliff faces, and is shy of human approach.
Possibly owing to its shy habits and hard to reach colony sites, it is one of the least studied and least known birds of the North Pacific.
A group of cormorants has many collective nouns, including a "flight", "gulp", "rookery", "sunning", and "swim" of cormorants.

Author

Ashli Maruster Splitbar

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Red-faced Cormorant

Red-faced Cormorant: Dark brown to black with variable green and violet iridecsence. Bright red face patch, dull bill. Black legs, feet. Breeding adults develop white patches on flanks and white neck feathers or "plumes." Strong powerful direct flight. Flies in straight line formation.

● Song: "berr awkkkkk"

● Foraging & Feeding: Red-faced Cormorant: Dives from surface of water to pursue fish often near rocky shores. Seen feeding in mixed flocks alongside Pelagic Cormorant. Has been observed feeding in deeper waters, up to 12 miles from shore.

● Breeding & nesting: Red-faced Cormorant: Monogamous nester of coastal Alaska and northeast Asia. Small flocks or colonies nest on steep and rocky mainland cliffs or islands. Female and male build nest of seaweed, grass, and ocean debris on rocky ledge. Female lays three or four pale blue eggs. Both sexes incubate for 31 to 38 days, and rear altricial young. Fledging occurs at 40 to 50 days, with young birds often returning to nest over the first few weeks after fledging to be cared for by adults.

● Similar species: Red-faced Cormorant: Pelagic cormorant averages slightly smaller and slimmer with thinner, darker bill. In all plumages, adult Red-faced show extensive bright red patch surrounding the eye and extending to forehead. Pelagic show much reduced red face patch often indiscernible at distance. Both Brandt's Cormorant and Double-crested Cormorant are larger and lack any red on face.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with rapid wing beats, Graceful

Red-faced Cormorant Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Red-faced Cormorant: Range in North America restricted to coastal Alaska. Prefers rocky coasts for both feeding and breeding habitat.

^BreedingMonogamous, Small colonies

^PopulationCommon in restricted range

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight89.6 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America