Phalacrocorax auritus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PELECANIFORMES	PHALACROCORACIDAE

Scientific Name:

Phalacrocorax auritus

Species Authority:

(Lesson, 1831)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Double-crested Cormorant

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s:

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2009	–	Least Concern
2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The Double-crested Cormorant is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands and Alaska (USA) down to north-west Mexico on the Pacific coast, and from North Carolina (USA) down to Cuba on the Atlantic coast. Summer breeding grounds also include much of the United States and southern-central and eastern Canada¹.
Countries:	Native: Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Bermuda; Canada; Cayman Islands; Cuba; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Guadeloupe; Haiti; Martinique; Mexico; Montserrat; Puerto Rico; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Turks and Caicos Islands; United States Vagrant: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba; Curaçao; Ireland; Jamaica; Portugal; Sint Maarten (Dutch part); United Kingdom; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S. Present - origin uncertain: Guatemala
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population Trend:	Increasing

Population Trend:

Increasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species habitat ranges widely, including sheltered marine waters such as estuaries, bays and mangrove swamps, rocky coasts and coastal islands, and inland on lakes, rivers, swamps, reservoirs and ponds. Its diet it almost exclusively fish with a few crustaceans, with the prey species changing depending on locality. Prey is caught by pursuit-diving, and individuals can fish co-operatively, sometimes with thousands of birds together at one time. It begins laying from April to July, nesting on a wide variety of substrates forming colonies sometimes over thousands of pairs strong (del Hoyo et al. 1992).
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

This species habitat ranges widely, including sheltered marine waters such as estuaries, bays and mangrove swamps, rocky coasts and coastal islands, and inland on lakes, rivers, swamps, reservoirs and ponds. Its diet it almost exclusively fish with a few crustaceans, with the prey species changing depending on locality. Prey is caught by pursuit-diving, and individuals can fish co-operatively, sometimes with thousands of birds together at one time. It begins laying from April to July, nesting on a wide variety of substrates forming colonies sometimes over thousands of pairs strong (del Hoyo et al. 1992).

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Citation:	BirdLife International 2012. Phalacrocorax auritus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 May 2013.
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