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Reflections on a cormorant
By adamg on Tue, 08/27/2024 - 9:43am
Lilyan Hashim was walking around the Brookline Reservoir when she spotted a cormorant being all cormoranty and spreading its wings while perched on a rock yesterday.
Unlike other waterfowl, cormorants don't have any oil to cover their feathers when they go into the water. Turns out this is a good thing for hunting fish, because the feathers get waterlogged, so no trapped air bubbles to slow them down underwater.
But drenched feathers aren't so good for flying, so after a good feed, the birds stretch out to dry out their feathers.
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Comments
Remarkably, cormorants are not ducks
We've all heard the expression "water off a duck's back". Ducks' feathers have water-repelling oils, so they don't get wet. But cormorants aren't like that; they do get wet, and have to stand their with spread wings to dry out.
Great composition.
Great composition.
It would look great on a
It would look great on a postage stamp celebrating waterfowl. Great shot @Lilyan Hashim!
They seem more like penguins than ducks to me
My favorite thing about cormorants is that they appear to be comfortable & agile in the air, on the land, and under the water.
They can fly. Maybe not the huge distances some other birds can do, but hey, they’re a hell of a lot better at flying than I am. (Or most penguins, for that matter.)
They can …waddle. Land seems to be their least-favorite terrain, but they manage.
But under the water, they’re just awesome. I love how you can sit by a river or lake & watch a cormorant sitting on a rock, then dive under the water, zig-zag all over chasing fish, then come up seemingly minutes later at a formidable distance away from where they started. They’re a hell of a lot better at holding their breath underwater than I am.