Everyone that has spent anytime around water in South and East Texas has seen a cormorant. Cormorants are fish eaters and therefore are a topic of discussion among fisheries biologists, lake and pond owners, anglers, and fish farmers. Cormorants are found pretty much worldwide where there is ice-free water. There are two species of cormorants found in Texas – double-crested cormorants and neotropic cormorants, with the double-crested being the most common species. These birds are more abundant from November through May when they are over wintering here, however some birds will remain throughout the year.

The double-crested cormorant is a large black bird that is 29-36 inches long with a wingspan that can be as wide as 4 feet. It has a long tail and a yellow throat patch. The bird gets its name from the white double head crest (looks like a couple of cowlicks) that is exhibited during the breeding season. Juveniles are brown with a white face, neck, and chest.

Double-crested cormorant numbers declined significantly during the 1960s when DDT was being widely used, but in the last 20 years their numbers have rebounded with the discontinued use of DDT and increased habitat due to large reservoirs being constructed and fish farms becoming more common where fish are plentiful and confined making for easy meals. Double-crested cormorants swim low in the water with just their neck and head visible. They use their feet for propulsion when they dive and can dive up to 25 feet deep for a little over a minute. Despite spending much of their time in water, double-crested cormorants do not possess the water proofing oils that other seabirds have, so they have to spend much of their time drying their wings. This is what they are doing when seen around the lake with their wings stretched out.

Double-crested cormorants roost and build nests in traditional areas and will return to those areas year after year in large colonies. They often associate with other birds and will build their nests near great blue heron nests and other similar species – night herons, egrets, etc. Double-crested cormorants also feed alongside other birds in what is thought is a relationship that is helpful in finding prey and for detecting predators. The usual suspects including raccoons, blue jays, foxes, coyotes, falcons, and bald eagles are known to eat cormorant eggs and young. When threatened cormorants will often vomit fish at a predator, so be careful when you find yourself under a cormorant roost as folks who fish often do. Cormorants live to be about 6 years old with some individuals living longer if conditions are favorable.   

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department did a cormorant feeding study in 1985 to determine what they prey on and to what extent they may affect fish populations. This study was done during the over wintering period (November-March) when cormorants are more abundant in Texas. Birds were collected by shotgun (yes, biology can be fun) and their stomach contents were analyzed (not so fun), with 495 birds being collected during the study period. Based on recovery of leg bands found on some of the birds the majority of over wintering cormorants in East and South Texas come from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Montana, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Analysis of the stomach contents indicated that the cormorants while here in Texas had eaten 29 species of fish. Shad, small minnows, rough fishes, and various other forage fishes were more commonly consumed by number, while catfishes, basses, sunfishes, and crappies accounted for only 12% of the numbers of fish found in the stomach contents, but 48% of the total weight of the fish the birds had eaten.

Male cormorants consumed larger fish on average than female birds and adults as expected ate larger fish than juveniles. The size and species of the fish found in the stomachs changed over time, indicating that cormorants are opportunistic feeders instead of feeding exclusively on just one thing or group of fish species. Fish less than 5 ½ inches long accounted for 92% of the food the cormorants had eaten and most (90%) of the fish eaten were either forage fish or sunfish. However, there was note of fish as big as 16 inches that had been eaten by cormorants.

As always, if you should have any questions concerning this article or have any other fishery questions please don’t hesitate to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call me at 409-384-9572. Good Luck and Good Fishing!

Dan Ashe is a fisheries biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. He has worked out of the Jasper, Texas field office since 2005 helping to manage east Texas reservoirs including Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend. Dan has also worked as fisheries biologist in Puerto Rico, California, and Alaska but now calls Texas home.