Key Identification Features
- The Cape cormorant’s beak is dark grey-black, with a distinct deep yellow-orange gular pouch.
- The Indian cormorant can be distinguished by its narrower, longer bill that ends in a prominent hook tip, its blue iris, and a more pointed head profile.
- It has a distinctive ring of blue skin around its eyes, an orange-yellow nasal knob, pinkish legs and feet, and an erectile black crest.
- While this facial skin color is less vivid outside of the breeding season, it is still distinct enough to separate the red-faced cormorant from the otherwise similar pelagic cormorant.
For instant identification in the field, use the iNature app — AI-powered, works offline.
