BirdTab LogoBirdTab

Reed Cormorant

Microcarbo africanus

Least Concern (IUCN Red List)Cormorants and Shags
Reed Cormorant, photographed by Charles J. Sharp

Photo: Charles J. Sharp · Wikimedia · CC-BY-SA 4.0 (licence)

Add to my checklistRange map and sightings on eBird

Call and song

About the Reed Cormorant

A small, speckle-backed cormorant that is common and widespread in fresh water. The adult is blackish with a short black crest above the bill. Immatures are brownish with paler underparts. Although they share the same habitat with Great Cormorant, Long-tailed Cormorants can be separated by their much smaller size, red eyes, and proportionately longer tails. Generally, Long-tailed Cormorant avoids the marine habitats of the similar-looking Crowned Cormorant, which has a larger crest, an unspeckled back, and a shorter tail.

Species account: eBird.org, fetched 2025-12-26 · How these pages are made

Where it has been recorded

Recorded in 51 of the 253 countries we have eBird lists for. Each opens that country's checklist.

More cormorants and shags