IMPERIAL CORMORANT

Common name : Imperial cormorant 

Scientific name : Phalacrocorax atriceps

Order : Suliformes

Length : 29 inches.

DESCRIPTION

As a species, it can measure between 27 and 30inches in length, reaching a weight between 1.8 and 3.5 kg, since males are larger than females. It is endowed with shiny black feathers that cover most of its body, with a white neck and belly. He has, around his eyes, skin of a distinctive blue tone; and presents an orange-yellow nasal knob. The legs are pink. During the breeding season, a black erectile plume grows on its head, which it lacks at other times of the year.

ENVIRONMENT AND NOURISHMENT

There are records and observations of the species from the Concepción region to the south. However, it is only from Chiloé that its presence becomes more evident, in the company of the Rock Cormorant, with whom it shares feeding sites. The imperial cormorant manages to nest even as far as Cape Horn. Their diet consists of fish, crustaceans and cephalopods.

PROCREATION

Egg laying occurs between October and December, on rocks or islets that are difficult to access; place where they have built a nest with seaweed and grass, stuck with mud or excrement. The eggs, incubated by both parents, hatch after 5 weeks. These are monogamous birds that live in colonies, which facilitates the process.

CONSERVATION

According to the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the species is in category: LC (Least Concern). In Chile it does not have a conservation category.