Bird Illustrations
Water Perching Birds:
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), watercolor and pastel
About the illustration:
Commissioned by: Wisconsin Sea Grant, University of WisconsinMadison
About double-crested cormorants:
Double-crested cormorants are about 50 inches long with wingspans of about 27 inches. They eat fish, for the most part, and dive from the surface to catch them. They have a yellow throat patch. "Double-crested" refers to two tufts of feathers on the sides of the head during spring.
Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata (having a spinal chord)
Class: Aves (birds)
Order: Pelecaniformes (waterbirds having all four toes webbed, "totipalmate")
Family: Phalacrocoracidae (cormorants and shags)
Genus: Phalacrocorax
Species: P. auritus
More information about cormorants:
The Rise of the Double-crested Cormorant on the Great Lakes
Colorado Division of Wildlife, Cormorant
Photographs of cormorants:
