CreatureData

Cape cormorant

Phalacrocorax capensis (Sparrman, 1788)

ENEndangeredbirds

The cape cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis) is a species in the family Phalacrocoracidae, order Suliformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.1 kg to 1.33 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

Cape cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis)
Photo: D. Gordon E. Robertson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the cape cormorant

Weight
1.1 kg – 1.33 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
1.09 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
23.8 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2.4src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the cape cormorant?

CAPE CORMORANT · WINGSPAN 1.09 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.09 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the cape cormorant is about 64% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the cape cormorant live?

Not recorded

What is the cape cormorant?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Cape cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis), also known as the Cape shag, is a member of the cormorant family. It is endemic to the southwestern coast of Africa, and classified as "Endangered" by the IUCN. The Cape cormorant is most closely related to the great cormorant and Japanese cormorant.

From the Wikipedia article “Cape cormorant” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cape_cormorant&oldid=1374206672), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the cape cormorant endangered?

The cape cormorant is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.

How is the cape cormorant classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderSuliformes
  5. familyPhalacrocoracidae
  6. genusPhalacrocorax
  7. SpeciesPhalacrocorax capensis (Sparrman, 1788)

Synonyms Leucocarbo capensis, Pelecanus capensis, Pseudocarbo capensis

Other names and names in other languages (33)
  • TrekduikerAfrikaans
  • TrekkormorantAfrikaans
  • غاقة رأس الرجاء الصالحArabic
  • Morvran ar C'habBreton
  • corb marí del CapCatalan
  • kormorán jihoafrickýCzech
  • mulfran y PenrhynWelsh
  • KapskarvDanish
  • KapscharbeGerman
  • Kap-ScharbeGerman
  • kaba kormoranoEsperanto
  • Cormorán de El CaboSpanish
  • kuldkurk-kormoran (kuldkurk-karbas)Estonian
  • Kuldkurk-kormoranEstonian
  • باکلان دماغهPersian
  • kapinmerimetsoFinnish
  • Cormoran du CapFrench
  • fokföldi kárókatonaHungarian
  • Cormorano del CapoItalian
  • キノドハナグロウJapanese
  • kapinis kormoranasLithuanian
  • Kaapse aalscholverDutch
  • kappskarvNorwegian
  • kormoran przylądkowyPolish
  • corvo-marinho-do-caboPortuguese
  • Капский бакланRussian
  • kormorán pobrežnýSlovak
  • Kapski vranacSerbian
  • Kap KarabatağıTurkish
  • Güney Afrika KarabatağıTurkish
  • баклан капськийUkrainian
  • 南非鸕鷀Chinese
  • 南非鸬鹚Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the cape cormorant

Other species in the same genus Phalacrocorax.

LC, Least Concern
Spotted shag (Phalacrocorax punctatus)

Spotted shag

Phalacrocorax punctatus

Phalacrocoracidae

CompareCape cormorant vs Great cormorantCape cormorant vs Indian cormorantCape cormorant vs Japanese cormorantCape cormorant vs Little black cormorant

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the cape cormorant?

An adult cape cormorant weighs 1.1 kg – 1.33 kg and has a wingspan of 1.09 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the cape cormorant endangered?

The cape cormorant is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the cape cormorant?

The cape cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis) belongs to the family Phalacrocoracidae in the order Suliformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Cape cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-cormorant

MLA

“Cape cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-cormorant.

BibTeX
@misc{cape_cormorant_2026,
  title = {Cape cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cape-cormorant},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}