Pygmy Cormorant Microcarbo pygmaeus Scientific name definitions

45–55 cm; 565–870 g; wingspan 80–90 cm. Breeding adult has short erectile crest on forecrown, plumage mostly black at start of breeding season, head, neck and contour body feathers with scattered short white filoplumes  , feathers around eye dotted white; blackish grey with some greenish to purplish-black gloss on mantle, scapulars and wing-coverts, each feather with narrow blacker fringe affording rather scaly appearance (not or hardly noticeable on mantle); remiges and tail blackish; white filoplumes soon mostly lost and rear head and most of neck increasingly display chestnut tinge as breeding season progresses; non-breeding adult has dark brown to rufescent-brown head and neck, often darkest on forecrown, pattern of scapulars and wing-coverts often more contrasting because of largely silvery feathers, with thin pale fringes, brownish white on foreface below gape to chin and upper throat, underparts duller, sometimes with buffy marks on abdomen. Iris dark brown; eyelids, bill and gular pouch black at start of breeding season, subsequently, bill largely pale greyish, pale brownish, or pale pinkish-grey starting with gape and base of mandible, usually dusky brownish grey on culmen; legs and feet blackish, webs with dusky-brown tinge. Sexes similar. Juvenile  similar to non-breeding adult but browner overall, central foreneck often paler , new feathers on upperparts in autumn greyer with little sheen, those of mantle, scapulars and wing-coverts have darker blackish-grey subterminal fringes and thin pale fringes and tips, giving them a scaly appearance, brownish upper chest contrasts with paler dull white to brownish white and dark brown-streaked abdomen, thighs blackish; pale abdomen is blurrily spotted blackish in following spring . Very like M. niger in size, structure and plumage, but crest often more noticeable in present species, which perhaps looks less slim-bodied and slightly smaller-headed, with pattern on scapulars and wing-coverts often less contrasting except in immatures, which have usually much paler abdomen. Non-breeding adult also less evenly blackish, with browner head and neck, and pale throat is rarely clearly delineated from brown of neck; colour of iris and facial skin assist in separation from other similar species.

Discontinuously from SE Europe and Turkey E to region of Aral Sea and Tajikistan, S to Israel and Iraq; formerly also N Africa. N populations winter in S part of the range.

Lowland bodies of fresh water, including lakes , slow-flowing rivers, deltas and other wetlands. Sometimes in brackish or salt water, especially in winter. Requires emergent trees or reedbeds for roosting, resting and nesting.

Partially migratory; most movements over short distances, and species sedentary over large areas. Migration varies according to year, but is most marked in populations of Black Sea and, especially, N Caspian Sea; birds start to leave breeding grounds towards end of Aug, returning in Mar/Apr; major winter quarters in S Caspian Sea, with less important numbers along coasts of Adriatic, Aegean and NE Mediterranean. Accidental, occasionally irruptive in C Europe, where up to three overwintered in Switzerland in 2000/01 (1 Grether, E. (2001). Three Pygmy Cormorants Phalacrocorax pygmeus wintering on Lake Zurick (Switzerland). Orn. Beob.. 98: 261. Close ), first record for Latvia in Jan–Feb 2012, and recorded around same time also in S Germany and SW France (2 van den Berg, A.B. and Haas, M. (2012). WP reports. Dutch Birding. 34(2): 112–124. Close ). Vagrant also in Belgium , Spain , Tunisia, and Pakistan.

Mainly fish up to 15 cm long, average weight 15 g. At Danube Delta mostly fish of family Cyprinidae, e.g. rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus), roach (Rutilus rutilus), Crucian carp (Carassius carassius), loach (Cobitis taenia); also perch (Perca fluviatilis) and fish species of other groups. Feeds mainly by pursuit-diving. Normally fishes alone  or in small groups.

Laying Apr–Jul. Forms large colonies  , often with P. carbo, egrets and herons. Stick nest  lined with finer material, placed near or over water in tree, bush or reeds; willow trees (Salix) preferred over most of range, but Tamarix used more in Azerbaijan. Clutch 2–8 eggs  , usually 4–6; incubation period 27–30 days; chicks naked, grow dark brown down; fledging period c. 70 days, perhaps less. In Siahkeshim Protected Area (part of Anzali Wetland Complex), in N Iran, in 2007, 87% of eggs hatched, 88% of chicks survived to at least three weeks, and overall breeding success 77% (mean of 3·2 fledglings per nest) (3 Barati, A., Javan, S. and Sehhatisabet, M. E. (2008). Reproductive biology of Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus in Siahkeshim Protected Area, Northern Iran. Marine Ornithology. 36: 163-166. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Formerly considered Near Threatened. Has large, if fragmented, range, within which population appears to be increasing. According to BirdLife, estimated global population 85,000–180,000 individuals; European population (75–94% of global breeding range) now put at 28,000–39,000 pairs, considerably more than 1996 estimate of 13,000 pairs, including c. 8000–12,000 breeding pairs in Azerbaijan and 11,500–14,000 pairs in Romania. In breeding colony at Gyzylagach, Azerbaijan’s most important Ramsar site, 10,000 individuals in 1957, 5000 in 1967, maximum of 3200 in 1972–1977, 11,200 in 1995 and 33,844 in 2006 (4 Sultanov, E. (2008). Recent waterbird counts in Gyzylagach, the Azerbaijan Republic’s most important Ramsar site, with comments on conservation. Podoces. 3(1–2): 31–38. Close ). Counts of wintering birds in Uzbekistan indicate that numbers have increased from 4000–4500 individuals in 2000 to 15,500 in 2006; by extrapolation, a further c. 8300–10,000 winter in neighbouring countries (in IBAs), and total population of this cormorant in C Asia is thought to be at least 15,000–25,000 pairs (5 Kreuzberg-Mukhina, E. (2008). Distribution and Population Trends of Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmaeus in Central Asia, with Particular Reference to the Republic of Uzbekistan. Podoces. 3(1/2): 53-66. Close ). Significant decline in Europe in latter half of 20th century was caused mainly by degradation and loss of breeding habitat, primarily through drainage of wetlands for agriculture and artificial regulation of rivers; in many countries, this and other cormorants heavily persecuted by fishermen, who deliberately scare nesting birds at colonies and shoot them; also, some (especially young) drown in fishing nets set too close to nesting colonies; moreover, significant mortality caused by very cold and snowy winters, and at wintering grounds in Middle East these birds were often killed for human consumption. Range contracted, notably in S Europe, with loss of colonies and also smaller numbers, e.g. population of Prespa Lakes, in N Greece, slumped from 650 pairs in 1971 to 80 pairs in 1978. Species Protection Plan was prepared in 1999, following which population has increased; recolonized some of former traditional breeding sites in Danube Delta (where c. 12,000 pairs in mid 1980s), which now supports largest breeding population in Europe (6 Ławicki, Ł., Khil, L. and de Vries, P. P. (2012). Expansion of Pygmy Cormorant in central and western Europe and increase of breeding population in southern Europe. Dutch Birding. 34(5): 273-288. Close ). Formerly bred in N Africa (Algeria) in 19th century, and in Israel until mid-20th century. Main threats continue to be degradation of wetlands through drainage for agriculture and changes in hydrological regimes, as well as persecution by fish-farmers. The species is still hunted for recreation and for commercial use (sold at food markets) in Iran . Although conservation measures have improved its situation in SE Europe, habitat destruction and persecution in wintering range remain matters of serious concern.