r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • Aug 25 '24
Verified Endemic to the Galápagos Islands, the flightless cormorant is the only cormorant that cannot fly. Instead, it is adapted to hunting in water — with larger, more powerful webbed feet, and insulating fur-like feathers. It still spends much time drying after a dive, spreading its tiny wings in the sun.
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u/IdyllicSafeguard Aug 25 '24
The ancestor of the flightless cormorant is thought to have arrived on the Galápagos Archipelago some 2 million years ago, before its current home islands — Isabela and Fernandina — were even formed.
The flightless cormorant is considered the heaviest of the 40 or so living cormorant species, weighing up to 5 kilogrammes (11 lbs).
This cormorant usually dives to depths of between 10 and 15 metres (30 - 50 ft), but has been recorded at depths up to 80 metres (260 ft) and can remain underwater for up to 3 minutes.
The flightless cormorant doesn't use its wings to swim. Rather, it tucks them to its sides and propels itself with its large, webbed feet.
A cormorant's waterlogged feathers allow it to sink more easily and dive deeper than most other birds. So it's a kind of trade-off: better diving which necessitates time spent drying its feathers.
A flightless cormorant's nest is built close to shore from aquatic flotsam; seaweed, shells, bits of rope, or plastic debris. The male gathers the material and hands it to his mate, who builds the nest.
Typically, it is the male cormorant alone who cares for the couple’s chick during its last period of dependence, while the mother has already gone to find another mate. A pair bond rarely lasts for more than one or two seasons
As of a 2022 count, there is an approximate total population of 2,085 flightless cormorants. It is considered a ‘vulnerable’ species by the IUCN. Fortunately, the species seems quick to recover from disasters — taking only about 18 months for populations to rebound after a disaster such as El Niño.
You can read about the birth and colonisation of the Galápagos Islands, the flightless cormorant, and other flightless birds — living and extinct — on my website here!
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u/Mama_Skip Aug 26 '24 edited Aug 26 '24
This is likely how penguins evolved.
A hardy and adaptable species of sea bird makes it to a remote island with no terrestrial predators, scarce terrestrial food reserves, and plentiful aquatic food reserves close to shore.
There is no incentive to fly and plentiful incentive to develop aquatic capabilities.
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u/YarrTharBeQuail Aug 25 '24
I am always entranced watching cormorants (and vultures) sunning themselves on the lake. But this guy... look at those tiny li'l flappers! 😂