CreatureData

Pelagic cormorant

Urile pelagicus (Pallas, 1811)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The pelagic cormorant (Urile pelagicus) is a species in the family Phalacrocoracidae, order Suliformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.7 kg to 2.04 kg and live up to 17.8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Pelagic cormorant (Urile pelagicus)
Photo: Alpsdake · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the pelagic cormorant

Weight
1.7 kg – 2.04 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
17.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
17.8 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
26.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3.74src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
17 months – 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the pelagic cormorant

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Pelagic cormorant (Urile pelagicus)
Alan Vernon · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the pelagic cormorant live?

Not recorded

What is the pelagic cormorant?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The pelagic cormorant (Urile pelagicus), also known as Baird's cormorant or violet-green cormorant, is a small member of the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. Analogous to other smallish cormorants, it is also called the pelagic shag occasionally. This seabird lives along the coasts of the northern Pacific; during winter it can also be found in the open ocean. Pelagic cormorants have relatively short wings due to their need for economical movement underwater, and consequently have the highest flight costs of any bird.

It was formerly classified in the genus Phalacrocorax, but a 2014 study supported reclassifying it and several other Pacific cormorant species into the genus Urile. The IOC followed this classification in 2021.

From the Wikipedia article “Pelagic cormorant” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pelagic_cormorant&oldid=1379963342), 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 pelagic cormorant endangered?

The pelagic cormorant is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  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 Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the pelagic cormorant classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderSuliformes
  5. familyPhalacrocoracidae
  6. genusUrile
  7. SpeciesUrile pelagicus (Pallas, 1811)

Synonyms Leucocarbo pelagicus, Phalacrocorax pelagicus

Other names and names in other languages (43)
  • Baird's cormorantEnglish
  • Kenyon's shagEnglish
  • Pelagic shagEnglish
  • Resplendent cormorantEnglish
  • Violet-green cormorantEnglish
  • غاق بحريArabic
  • corb marí pelàgicCatalan
  • kormorán mořskýCzech
  • kormorán tichomořskýCzech
  • StillehavsskarvDanish
  • MeerschabeGerman
  • MeerscharbeGerman
  • NordpazifischenkormoranGerman
  • pelaga kormoranoEsperanto
  • Pato sargentoSpanish
  • Cormoran pelagicoSpanish
  • Cormorán pelágicoSpanish
  • UlgukormoranEstonian
  • ulgukormoran (ulgukarbas)Estonian
  • باکلان لجهایPersian
  • ulappamerimetsoFinnish
  • cormoran pelagiqueFrench
  • Cormoran pélagiqueFrench
  • pučinski vranacCroatian
  • alaszkai kárókatonaHungarian
  • Cormorano pelagicoItalian
  • ヒメウJapanese
  • 쇠가마우지Korean
  • pelaginis kormoranasLithuanian
  • Beringa ūdenisLatvian
  • Pelagische AalscholverDutch
  • beringskarvNorwegian
  • kormoran krasnolicyPolish
  • Cormorão-pelágicoPortuguese
  • corvo-marinho-pelágicoPortuguese
  • Берингов бакланRussian
  • kormorán morskýSlovak
  • Američki morski vranacSerbian
  • pelagskarvSwedish
  • Pelajik KarabatakTurkish
  • баклан берингійськийUkrainian
  • 海鸕鷀Chinese
  • 海鸬鹚Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the pelagic cormorant

Other species in the same genus Urile.

ComparePelagic cormorant vs Pallas's cormorantPelagic cormorant vs Brandt's cormorantPelagic cormorant vs Red-faced cormorant

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the pelagic cormorant?

An adult pelagic cormorant weighs 1.7 kg – 2.04 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the pelagic cormorant endangered?

The pelagic cormorant is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the pelagic cormorant live?

The pelagic cormorant has a recorded lifespan of 17.8 years.

What kind of animal is the pelagic cormorant?

The pelagic cormorant (Urile pelagicus) 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). Pelagic cormorant (Urile pelagicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pelagic-cormorant

MLA

“Pelagic cormorant (Urile pelagicus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/pelagic-cormorant.

BibTeX
@misc{pelagic_cormorant_2026,
  title = {Pelagic cormorant (Urile pelagicus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/pelagic-cormorant},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}