Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger)
About the Little Cormorant
The little cormorant (Microcarbo niger) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. Slightly smaller than the Indian cormorant it lacks a peaked head and has a shorter beak. It is widely distributed across the Indian subcontinent and extends east to Java, where it is sometimes called the Javanese cormorant. It forages singly or sometimes in loose groups in lowland freshwater bodies, including small ponds, large lakes, streams and sometimes coastal estuaries. Like other cormorants, it is often found perched on a waterside rock with its wings spread out after coming out of the water. The entire body is black in the breeding season but the plumage is brownish, and the throat has a small whitish patch in the non-breeding season. These birds breed gregariously in trees, often joining other waterbirds at heronries.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 10 recordings for this species: 5 CC BY-NC-ND · 1 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in India, Thailand in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Other birds you can hear here
- Alexandrine ParakeetPsittacula eupatriarecording
- Amur FalconFalco amurensisrecording
- Ashy DrongoDicrurus leucophaeusrecording
- Ashy WoodswallowArtamus fuscusrecording
- Asian Green Bee-eaterMerops orientalisrecording
- Asian KoelEudynamys scolopaceusrecording
These are the birds recorded alongside it, not close relatives — the site holds no other member of its genus or family yet.