Indian Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis) நீர்க்காகம்
Indian Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis) நீர்க்காகம் (Photo credit: U Elaya Perumal)
Indian Cormorant is frequently observed at Medavakkam Marshland. AARI is situated at the center of Marshland hence we could observe birds every day. Since we shifted our Institute to here on 1st February every day we could notice Indian Cormorant.
The Indian cormorant or Indian shag (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis) is a member of the cormorant family. It is found mainly along the inland waters of the Indian Subcontinent but extending west to Sind and east to Thailand and Cambodia. It is a gregarious species that can be easily distinguished from the similar-sized little cormorant by its blue eye, small head with a sloping forehead and a long narrow bill ending in a hooked tip.
Indian cormorant with open wings (Photo credit: U Elaya Perumal)
Indian cormorant with a long bill (Photo credit: U Elaya Perumal)
Group of Cormorant flying through Medavakkam (Photo credit: U Elaya Perumal)
The breeding season is July to February but depends on rainfall and water conditions. In northern India, they breed from July to February and in Sri Lanka, between November and February. The nest is a platform of twigs placed in the forks of partially submerged trees or those growing on islands. The nests are placed in close proximity to those of other Indian cormorants, storks, or waterbirds in dense colonies, often with several tiers of nests. The usual clutch is three to five eggs which are bluish-green and with a chalky surface.
The Indian cormorant makes short dives to capture the fish and a group will often fish communally, forming a broad front to drive fish into a corner.
An echinostomatoid parasite has been described from Sindh from this species.
Birds around Annakkili Amma Research Institute (AARI), Sivagami Nagar, Medavakkam, Chennai...
