from the October 25, 2009 Newsletter, from near Natchez, Mississippi
A NEWLY ARRIVED CORMORANT

Above you see a Double-crested Cormorant, PHALACROCORAX AURITUS, just arrived for the winter. Back when I wrote for Aquaculture Magazine I profiled many catfish farms in Mississippi's Delta Region, and nearly all the farms' owners had awful things to say about Double-crested Cormorants. Cormorants find snatching catfish from shallow ponds to be easy food, and their sheer numbers usually overwhelmed any predator controls the farmers could devise.

The summer/winter distribution maps of most migrant bird species neatly show that the birds are one place during the summer and another in the winter. The Double-crested Cormorant's map is sloppier. You might be interested in comparing their winter map here   with their summer map showing where they nest here.

The summer map shows them breeding mostly in the north but also here and there in the southern states. This flexibility of behavior may prove very adaptive for them as global warming proceeds. It's documented that Double-crested Cormorants are increasing in numbers and expanding their distribution area.

Also flying around that day were some Anhingas, which look a lot like cormorants, except that Anhingas have sharp bills, while you can see that a cormorant's bill is rounded and hooked at the tip.