cormorant

American  

[kawr-mer-uhnt] / ˈkɔr mər ənt /

noun

1. any of several voracious, totipalmate seabirds of the family Phalacrocoracidae, as Phalacrocorax carbo, of America, Europe, and Asia, having a long neck and a distensible pouch under the bill for holding captured fish, used in China for catching fish.

2. a greedy person.

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cormorant British  

/ ˈkɔːmərənt /

noun

1. any aquatic bird of the family Phalacrocoracidae, of coastal and inland waters, having a dark plumage, a long neck and body, and a slender hooked beak: order Pelecaniformes (pelicans, etc)

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Etymology

Origin of cormorant

1300–50; Middle English cormera ( u ) nt < Middle French cormorant, Old French cormareng < Late Latin corvus marīnus sea-raven. See corbel, marine

Example Sentences

There were seagulls and puffins and cormorants and vultures and skuas and terns and sandpipers and eagles and every other type of northern bird, all flying together.

From Literature

A great blue heron balanced on a dock and watched me; a cormorant eyed me curiously.

From Los Angeles Times

And populations of once-numerous birds such as American white pelicans, double-breasted cormorants and eared grebes have declined.

From Los Angeles Times

Both rescue centers are also treating other seabirds ill from domoic acid, including the western grebes, brandt’s cormorants and red-throated loons, but brown pelicans have most frequently been sick.

From Los Angeles Times

Double-crested cormorants are colonial nesters, meaning they build nests close together, usually in large numbers, and in elevated areas near water as their diet consists of various fish, according to the National Park Service.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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