Ed,
I agree with others that, structurally, this bird is consistent with
Double-crested. Even the legs are thicker and much more robust, than those on
the nearby birds. Perhaps the reddish on the face is an artifact of lighting or
camera function. In the first photo it doesn't appear nearly so much so, and
not much different from normal for Double-crested. I'm actually a bit more
puzzled by the white mark at the rear of the red on the face. Perhaps that is
normal also, but then I haven't spent that much time carefully examining
cormorants.
In a related note, quite a few Pelagics show a significant amount of red on the
face, more than the field guides illustrate, and sometimes their bills do have
a lot of yellow on them as well. Unless the red on the face encompasses the eye
and extends to the forehead, I wouldn't be inclined to get too excited. But
didn't Washington have a Red-faced Cormorant a few years back?
Darrel
From: "baro" <baro@xxxxxxx>
To: "Hendrik Herlyn" <hhactitis@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "ed mcvicker" <ed.mcvicker@xxxxxxxxx>, "obol" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2021 5:19:27 PM
Subject: [obol] Re: Linc. Co. corm w/red face
Devilish, those cormorants!
On Thu, Oct 14, 2021 at 5:15 PM Hendrik Herlyn < [ mailto:hhactitis@xxxxxxxxx ;|
hhactitis@xxxxxxxxx ] > wrote:
Hi Ed and all,
To me, the bird looks like a pretty standard Double-crested Cormorant, perhaps
with a slightly more deep-orange face than usual. Structurally, if fits DCCO -
a Red-faced Cormorant should pretty much look like a slightly larger version of
a Pelagic. The face pattern on your bird is wrong for RFCO - not enough bare
skin behind the eye; bill structure also doesn't fit. And the "scaly" back
plumage (deep blackish-green feathers with black edges) is a strong indication
of DCCO as well.
Sorry to put a damper on your excitement! 😁 But keep checking those cormorants
... one day, we may find the real deal!
Cheers
Hendrik
On Thu, Oct 14, 2021 at 4:37 PM ed mcv < [ mailto:ed.mcvicker@xxxxxxxxx ;|
ed.mcvicker@xxxxxxxxx ] > wrote:
BQ_BEGIN
While going through photos I shot yesterday on the S. Jetty/Yaquina R., I
discovered this cormorant with a red face. Unfortunately, I didn't pick it up
while in the field and couldn't chase it this morning...
I don't think it warrants the excitement I felt upon discovering it in the
photos, but I would love to be wrong. I'm interested to hear if others come to
the same conclusion as I about the ID on this bird.
[ https://www.flickr.com/photos/10665268@N04/albums/72157720026283697 ;|
https://www.flickr.com/photos/10665268@N04/albums/72157720026283697 ] ;
Thanks,
Ed McVicker
--
__________________________
Hendrik G. Herlyn
Corvallis, OR
"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home."
-- Gary Snyder
BQ_END
