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Bird photos, sounds and videos
| Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) Cormorants and Shags (Phalacrocoracidae) | |
| Skarv ~ Cormorán Grande ~ Storskarv | |
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2023-03-13
I think the sport in Denmark regarding this species is to separate the two subspecies carbo and sinensis. It has been my perception, unqualified?, that most birds were continental sinensis but it appears that the larger part of photos on netfugl.dk have ids to subspecies level and the majority are N Atlantic coastal carbo. How is that possible when the most reliable field mark is the angle of the gular pouch below the eye, and there is an overlap zone where subspecies cannot be determined by this criteria alone. According to studies, birds with an angle of 65 degrees or less are surely carbo and birds showing 73 degrees or more are confirmed sinensis. This gives you an 8 degrees span to base your field-photo decision on. And this of course only works if you have a neutral perpendicular view of the head to make a correct measurement from. Most photos are certainly not qualified for this, and even if they were, I doubt photo birders have made the effort to calculate the angle. I guess most put a subspecies to the observation based on assumption, or perhaps related to the generation of birder you belong to. Where there more carbo's in the past than now..? Seen together I guess the two could be separated on size too, sinensis 10% smaller, but even this would not be for sure all the time. Especially because it has been established as a fact, from studies in France, that the carbos that fly inland on the continent on average are smaller than the birds that stay on the coast; eliminating the value of size comparison. |
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3215
(3 photos)
2019-10-31 Dragør Kommune, Denmark Young bird with the white belly. This subspecies is the common one in the interior waters of Denmark. If subspecies carbo is ever present it is only along the western seaboard of Jutland, far western Denmark. |
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3451
(5 photos)
2020-07-29 Vinkelhuse (Tårnby), Denmark The cormorant is a common species on Amager. Normally along the coast and in wetlands. Often they also cross from one side to the other, going from Øresund to Køge Bugt or vice versa. Always non-stop flying. Therefore, to discover this bird the other day sitting on the roof top of our apartment building was quite unexpected. Gulls and crows do it frequently - a convenient roosting spot raised above the local park down below. A first for me, I'm sure. It has come back now three days in a row, just sitting there on the edge, and at least stayed last night to roost. This afternoon, 31st, it left in the afternoon toward Øresund, and has not yet returned, 21:15. Young bird, 2cy, with mottled neck and upper belly. A detail to mention is that right below where it is sitting, you find the entrance to the public washing area. Assuming that a large bird like a cormorant, and sitting in that same position for hours, can't do it without eventually having to deliver a package or two. Luckily, for us, there is another entrance that we normally use... Picture 1-2: 2020-07-29 Picture 3-4: 2020-07-30 Picture 5: 2020-07-31 Vinkelhuse |
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3578
(3 photos)
2021-09-29 Kastrup havn, Denmark Subspecies: sinensis First calendar year. All wing feathers look neatly alike as it would on a juvenile. I forgot to look at it from the front (whitish breast), because I was heading the other way... Subspecies determined by the almost 90 degree angle of the gular pouch edge below the eye. See species section for explanation. |
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5215
(1 photos)
2022-02-04 Dragør Kommune, Denmark Second calendar year. Small pond near Enggården. |
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5214
(3 photos)
2022-03-09 Søerne (København), Denmark Adult. Different birds. Active nest building at Fugleøen, Sortedamsøen. |
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3976
(1 photos)
2022-04-03 Kalvebod Fælled, Denmark One young white-bellied bird among adults. |
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4061
(1 photos)
2022-05-04 Kalvebod Fælled, Denmark Three young birds with one adult. |
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4887
(5 photos)
2023-02-12 Dragør Havn, Denmark Second calendar year. Not often you get this close to the cormorant. However, perhaps an unintended visit because it does look like a little splash of oil on the breast, making it [suddenly] not well-prepared for the cold water. Gular pouch angle on this bird (photo) says 67 degrees which is in the overlap zone between carbo and sinensis why it cannot be determined to subspecies based on this feature. |
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4910
(1 photos)
2023-02-18 Prøvestenen (syd), Denmark Subspecies: sinerensis Second calendar year. |
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4909
(1 photos)
2023-02-18 Prøvestenen (syd), Denmark Subspecies: sinerensis Adult. Many are in full breeding plumage by now. |
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5044
(2 photos)
2023-03-10 Christianshavns vold og voldgrav, Denmark Third calendar year. A young adult with few white neck plumes. The darkish bill must be an indication of a bird growing older, though it is not mentioned as an aging criteria, where I've looked. I think the sport in Denmark regarding this species is to separate the two subspecies carbo and sinensis. It has been my perception, unqualified?, that most birds were continental sinensis but it appears that the larger part of photos on netfugl.dk have ids to subspecies level and the majority are N Atlantic coastal carbo. How is that possible when the most reliable field mark is the angle of the gular pouch below the eye, and there is an overlap zone where subspecies cannot be determined by this criteria alone. According to studies, birds with an angle of 65 degrees or less are surely carbo and birds showing 73 degrees or more are confirmed sinensis. This gives you an 8 degrees span to base your field-photo decision on. Absolutely unreliable if you ask me. Assuming that many, perhaps depending on which birding generation you belong to, are defaulting their observations to subspecies level without solid support. Using an online measure device I get the angle on this bird fall in overlap or sinensis zone, depending on how I make the measuring. And a correct measurement of course should be made on a bird that has the head completely in the neutral planes perpendicular to the observer. |
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5145
(1 photos)
2023-04-13 Frederiksberg Have, Denmark Third calendar year. Not sure about the age, but I would expect an older adult to show white feathering in the head by now, and 2cy bird to be more brown and less glossy. |
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5322
(4 photos)
2023-09-23 Dragør Havn, Denmark Subspecies: carbo Second calendar year. Nordstranden. Lying dead on the wooden pier. The gular angle is about 48 well within the range of carbo [measured between the gape line and the lower back edge of the gular pouch]. Not sure, however, how death affects the angle to measure. Dead |
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5410
(2 photos)
2023-11-12 Søerne (København), Denmark Adult. Hooked! Fucking sports fishermen. I thought about trying to catch it, without looking forward to the smell it would leave on my jacket, and then I decided it was better to call the animal rescuer, but then all of a sudden it took off. Probably anxious about the intense attention I gave it. It flew in the direction of Gl. Kongevej, and low, why I would have expected it to land somewhere along the bank. But I couldn't find it, and had to leave with a bad taste in my mouth. Unfortunate |