A photo of a Cape Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis)
Cape Cormorant

Cape Cormorant

Phalacrocorax capensis

The Cape cormorant or Cape shag (Phalacrocorax capensis) is a bird endemic to the southwestern coasts of Africa. It breeds from Namibia south to southern Western Cape. In the nonbreeding season, it may be found as far north as the mouth of the Congo, and also extends up the east coast of South Africa as far as Mozambique. In the 1970s, the breeding population was estimated as over 1 million in Namibia alone. However, the IUCN now classifies it as "Endangered" due to a very rapid decline in the population over the last three generations. The Cape cormorant is an almost entirely glossy black bird, though in breeding condition it has a purplish tinge and a few white plumes on head, neck, and cloacal areas. Its gular skin is a deep orangey yellow; unusually for a cormorant, its lores are feathered.
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Photos

Sightings

A map showing the sighting location
ðŸĶĒ
Elton Flack
Thursday 30 Mar 2023 - 10:08am
South Africa
A map showing the sighting location
ðŸū
Sharon Bateson
Monday 27 Mar 2023 - 7:59am
South Africa
A map showing the sighting location
ðŸĶ…
Aart Verrips
Wednesday 22 Mar 2023 - 12:28pm
South Africa
A map showing the sighting location
ðŸĶ…
Aart Verrips
Tuesday 21 Mar 2023 - 11:23am
South Africa
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