Little pied cormorant. Credit Richard Ashurst

The slightly straggly little pied cormorant is a small cormorant measuring up to 58 centimetres long. The bird is entirely black above and white below with a bright yellow bill and a small black crest. It is often seen with its wings spread out to dry in the sun.

Where

Happy alone or in flocks, these cormorants prefer freshwater estuaries to unsheltered marine areas. Take a drive along Ellmoos Road to see this bird, with its wings spread out to dry in the sun on branches overhanging St Georges Basin.

Feeding

Their diet consists of a wide variety of aquatic animals with crustaceans being a favourite. You’ll also regularly see them swooping for fish.

Breeding

The little pied cormorants breed either in colonies or, less commonly, in single pairs. The nest is a flat platform of sticks, lined with green leaves and is usually placed in a tree. Both adults share in egg incubation and care of the young.

Sounds

Listen for a croaking tuk-tuk-tuk. While nesting in trees over water, they softly oo-oo.