Pelagic Cormorant

Pelagic Cormorant (Urile pelagicus) is a slender dark cormorant with a thin bill, long tail and red facial skin that becomes prominent in breeding plumage. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It remains closely associated with northern Pacific rocky coasts, diving for fish and benthic invertebrates and nesting on narrow ledges of cliffs and offshore rocks. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).