The reed cormorant (''Microcarbo africanus''), also known as the long-tailed cormorant, is a bird in the cormorant family

Phalacrocoracidae Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...

. It breeds in much of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

south of the Sahara, and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. It is resident but undertakes some seasonal movements.

Taxonomy

The reed cormorant was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

's '' Systema Naturae''. He placed it in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Pelecanus'' and coined the binomial name ''Pelecanus africanus''. Gmelin based his description on the "African shag" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. The reed cormorant is now one of five small cormorants placed in the genus ''

Microcarbo ''Microcarbo'' is a genus of fish-eating birds, known as cormorants, of the family Phalacrocoracidae. The genus was formerly subsumed within '' Phalacrocorax''. ''Microcarbo'' has been recognized as a valid genus by the IOC's World Bird List ...

'' that was introduced in 1856 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. Two subspecies are recognised: * ''M. a. africanus'' (Gmelin, JF, 1789) – inland and coastal Sub-Saharan Africa * ''M. a. pictilis'' (

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, 1918) – Madagascar (mainly west)

Description

This is a small cormorant, in overall length with a wingspan of . It is mainly black, glossed green, in the breeding season. The wing coverts are silvery. It has a longish tail, a short head crest and a red or yellow face patch. The

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

is yellow. The sexes are similar, but non-breeding adults and juveniles are browner, with a white belly. Some southern races retain the crest all year round.

Distribution and habitat

This is a common and widespread species, and is not considered to be threatened. It breeds on freshwater wetlands or quiet coasts.

Behaviour

The reed cormorant can dive to considerable depths, but usually feeds in shallow water. It frequently brings

prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

to the surface. It takes a wide variety of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

. It prefers small slow-moving fish, and those with long and tapering shapes, such as

mormyrid The Mormyridae, sometimes called "elephantfish" (more properly freshwater elephantfish), are a family of weakly electric freshwater fish in the order Osteoglossiformes native to Africa. It is by far the largest family in the order with around 20 ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive ...

es, and cichlids. It will less frequently eat soles (which can be important in its diet locally), frogs, aquatic invertebrates, and small birds. Two to four

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

are laid in a

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

in a tree or on the ground, normally hidden from view by long grass.

Gallery

Microcarbo africanus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.47.8.jpg, eggs - MHNT Reed cormorant (Microcarbo africanus) juvenile Sao Tome.jpg, juvenile
São Tomé and Príncipe Reed cormorant (Microcarbo africanus) Sao Tome.jpg, adult drying wings
São Tomé and Príncipe

References

External links

Reed Cormorant
- '' The Atlas of Southern African Birds'' * Reed cormorant
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q59492 reed cormorant Birds of the Gulf of Guinea Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa reed cormorant reed cormorant Birds of East Africa