USFWS
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
Alaska Region   

Wildlife

Seabirds of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

Red-faced commorant. Donna Dewhurst/USFWS. Click to Enlarge.Cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp.)

Four species of cormorants breed in Alaska. The red-faced cormorant (Phalacrocorax urile) breeds almost no where else (only in the nearby Commander Islands of Russia). Most of its world population can be found from the Bering Sea, throughout the Aleutian Islands and into the Gulf of Alaska.

The pelagic cormorant (P. pelagicus) is the smallest of Alaska’s cormorants. It breeds from the Chukchi Sea southward. Double-crested cormorants (P. auritis), more common throughout the rest of the United States, nest along the south coast of Alaska from Bristol Bay and the eastern Aleutians southward. They also use some inland lakes.

Brandt’s cormorants (P. penicillatus) are at the northern extreme of their range in Southeast Alaska.

NESTING HABITAT

Mixed colonies of two or three kinds of cormorants are common. Sometimes they may change the locations of their colonies from year to year. Cormorants build nests on or near cliffs overlooking the sea.

Red-faced and pelagic cormorants nest on ledges of steep cliffs. The smaller pelagic cormorant is able to use the smallest ledges. Double-crested cormorants nest on more gradual slopes, at the top of cliffs, and sometimes also in trees, when available. Brandt’s cormorants use wide cliff ledges and flat tops of isolated offshore sea stacks.

EGGS

All four cormorants commonly lay three to five eggs. They will nest again if their first attempt fails. Breeding success (raising chicks to fledging) varies greatly from year to year.

FEEDING RANGE

Cormorants typically feed less than two miles from land. After diving, they must return to dry their feathers. Double-crested cormorants feed in protected bays and estuaries. The others feed primarily along rocky coasts.

FOOD

All four species dive for a variety of fish in inshore waters. In some areas they depend on herring and sandlance. In years when prey is scarce, young cormorants often starve or are exposed to weather and predators while the parents are away foraging. Cormorants are especially sensitive to human disturbance during nesting.

Last updated:September 8, 2008