Double-crested cormorant
Nannopterum auritum (R. P. Lesson, 1831)
The double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) is a species in the family Phalacrocoracidae, order Suliformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.71 kg to 1.95 kg and live up to 17.8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the double-crested cormorant
- Weight
- 1.71 kg – 1.95 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 17.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 22.5 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 26 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the double-crested cormorant
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the double-crested cormorant live?
Not recorded
What is the double-crested cormorant?
The double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) is a member of the cormorant family of water birds. It is found near rivers and lakes and in coastal areas and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico. Measuring 70–90 cm (28–35 in) in length, it is entirely black except for a bare patch of orange-yellow facial skin and some extra plumage that it exhibits in the breeding season when it grows a double crest in which black feathers are mingled with white. Five subspecies are recognized. It mainly eats fish and hunts by swimming and diving. Its feathers, like all cormorants, are not waterproof, and it must dry them out after spending time in the water. Once threatened by the use of DDT, the numbers of this bird have increased markedly in recent years.
From the Wikipedia article “Double-crested cormorant” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Double-crested_cormorant&oldid=1379926119), 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 double-crested cormorant endangered?
The double-crested cormorant is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the double-crested cormorant classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderSuliformes
- familyPhalacrocoracidae
- genusNannopterum
- SpeciesNannopterum auritum (R. P. Lesson, 1831)
Synonyms Carbo auritus, Graculus dilophus, Hydrocorax dilophus, Hypoleucos auritus, Pelecanus dilophus, Phalacrocorax auritus, Phalacrocorax dilophus
Other names and names in other languages (58)
- غاق طويل الأذنArabic
- غاق مزدوج التاجArabic
- Ушат корморанBulgarian
- Morvran skouarnekBreton
- corb marí orellutCatalan
- Corb marí de doble crestaCatalan
- ØreskarvDanish
- OhrenscharbeGerman
- Αμερικανικός ΚορμοράνοςGreek
- orela kormoranoEsperanto
- Dukresta kormoranoEsperanto
- CorúaSpanish
- Cormoran BicrestadoSpanish
- Cormorán crestadoSpanish
- Cormorán OrejónSpanish
- Cormorán orejudoSpanish
- Ameerika kormoranEstonian
- ameerika kormoran (ameerika karbas)Estonian
- باکلان دوسینهPersian
- amerikanmerimetsoFinnish
- Cormoran à aigrettesFrench
- Broigheall cluasachIrish
- Kòmoran lanmèHaitian Creole
- קורמורן אמריקניHebrew
- dvokresti vranacCroatian
- füles kárókatonaHungarian
- SkerjaskarfurIcelandic
- Cormorano orecchiutoItalian
- marangone dalla doppia crestaItalian
- Marangone della doppia crestaItalian
- ミミヒメウJapanese
- 쌍뿔가마우지Korean
- HúŋtkaLakota
- ausuotasis kormoranasLithuanian
- ragainais ūdenisLatvian
- MqatawapuMi'kmaw
- Geoorde AalscholverDutch
- totoppskarvNorwegian
- GaagaagiishibOjibwa
- Decla OreaPapiamento
- Deklá OreaPapiamento
- kormoran rogatyPolish
- corvo-marinho-d'orelhasPortuguese
- corvo-marinho-de-orelhasPortuguese
- Ушастый бакланRussian
- AmerihkáskárfaNorthern Sami
- kormorán ušatýSlovak
- zlatogrli kormoranSlovenian
- Žutogrli vranacSerbian
- двокрести корморанSerbian
- öronskarvSwedish
- Kulaklı KarabatakTurkish
- Tepelikli Amerika KarabatağıTurkish
- баклан вухатийUkrainian
- 角鸕鶿Chinese
- 角鸬鹚Chinese
- 雙冠鸕鶿Chinese
- 雙冠鸕鷀Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the double-crested cormorant
Other species in the same genus Nannopterum.
Flightless cormorant
Nannopterum harrisi
Neotropic cormorant
Nannopterum brasilianum
CompareDouble-crested cormorant vs Flightless cormorantDouble-crested cormorant vs Neotropic cormorant
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the double-crested cormorant?
An adult double-crested cormorant weighs 1.71 kg – 1.95 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the double-crested cormorant endangered?
The double-crested cormorant is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the double-crested cormorant live?
The double-crested cormorant has a recorded lifespan of 17.8 years.
What kind of animal is the double-crested cormorant?
The double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/double-crested-cormorant
“Double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/double-crested-cormorant.
@misc{double_crested_cormorant_2026,
title = {Double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/double-crested-cormorant},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}