CreatureData

Reed cormorant

Microcarbo africanus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The reed cormorant (Microcarbo africanus) is a species in the family Phalacrocoracidae, order Suliformes. Recorded adults weigh 531.5 g to 626.8 g and live up to 12.3 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Reed cormorant (Microcarbo africanus)
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the reed cormorant

Weight
531.5 g – 626.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
80 cm – 90 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
12.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
24 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
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
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the reed cormorant?

REED CORMORANT · WINGSPAN 90 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 90 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the reed cormorant is about 53% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the reed cormorant live?

Not recorded

What is the reed cormorant?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The reed cormorant (Microcarbo africanus), also known as the long-tailed cormorant, is a bird in the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. It breeds in much of Africa south of the Sahara, and Madagascar. It is resident but undertakes some seasonal movements.

From the Wikipedia article “Reed cormorant” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reed_cormorant&oldid=1352682658), 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 reed cormorant endangered?

The reed 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.

How is the reed cormorant classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderSuliformes
  5. familyPhalacrocoracidae
  6. genusMicrocarbo
  7. SpeciesMicrocarbo africanus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

Synonyms Anhinga nana, Carbo africanoides, Halietor africanus, Pelecanus africanus, Phalacrocorax africanus, Phalacrocorax africanus africanus, Plotus nanus

Other names and names in other languages (53)
  • Long-tailed cormorantEnglish
  • Long-tailed cormorantEnglish
  • LTCOEnglish
  • RietduikerAfrikaans
  • RietkormorantAfrikaans
  • غاق القصبArabic
  • غاق أفريقيArabic
  • غاق طويل الذيلArabic
  • Morvran AfrikaBreton
  • corb marí africàCatalan
  • kormorán dlouhoocasýCzech
  • RørskarvDanish
  • RiedscharbeGerman
  • afrika kormoranoEsperanto
  • Longvosta kormoranoEsperanto
  • Cormorán africanoSpanish
  • aafrika kääbuskormoran (aafrika kääbuskarbas)Estonian
  • Aafrika kääbuskormoranEstonian
  • Ubarroi buztanluzeBasque
  • باکلان دمدرازPersian
  • kaislamerimetsoFinnish
  • Cormoran africainFrench
  • Broigheall fadearrachIrish
  • קורמורן ארוך-זנבHebrew
  • afrički vranacCroatian
  • afrikai kárókatonaHungarian
  • hosszúfarkú kormoránHungarian
  • VatnaskarfurIcelandic
  • Cormorano africanoItalian
  • アフリカコビトウJapanese
  • afrikinis kormoranasLithuanian
  • niedru ūdenisLatvian
  • BarafiloMalagasy
  • SakaizamboayMalagasy
  • Afrikaanse DwergaalscholverDutch
  • langhaleskarvNorwegian
  • kormoran etiopskiPolish
  • corvo-marinho-africanoPortuguese
  • Камышовый бакланRussian
  • GoalšoskárfaNorthern Sami
  • kormorán dlhochvostýSlovak
  • afriški kormoranSlovenian
  • Timeletsane-ntšoSouthern Sotho
  • Dugorepi vranacSerbian
  • långstjärtad skarvSwedish
  • Mnandi Mkia-mrefuSwahili
  • Uzun Kuyruklu KarabatakTurkish
  • TimeletsaneTswana
  • баклан африканськийUkrainian
  • UgwidiXhosa
  • 長尾鸕鷀Chinese
  • 长尾鸬鹚Chinese
  • iPhishamanziZulu

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the reed cormorant

Other species in the same genus Microcarbo.

CompareReed cormorant vs Pygmy cormorantReed cormorant vs Little cormorantReed cormorant vs Little pied cormorantReed cormorant vs Crowned cormorant

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the reed cormorant?

An adult reed cormorant weighs 531.5 g – 626.8 g and has a wingspan of 80 cm – 90 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the reed cormorant endangered?

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

How long does the reed cormorant live?

The reed cormorant has a recorded lifespan of 12.3 years.

What kind of animal is the reed cormorant?

The reed cormorant (Microcarbo africanus) 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). Reed cormorant (Microcarbo africanus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/reed-cormorant

MLA

“Reed cormorant (Microcarbo africanus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/reed-cormorant.

BibTeX
@misc{reed_cormorant_2026,
  title = {Reed cormorant (Microcarbo africanus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/reed-cormorant},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}