Editing Cormorant (section)

== Behaviour ==
All cormorants and shags are fish-eaters, dining on small [[eel]]s, fish, and even water snakes. They dive from the surface, though many species make a characteristic half-jump as they dive, presumably to give themselves a more streamlined entry into the water. Under water they propel themselves with their feet, though some also propel themselves with their wings (see the picture,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nwdiveclub.com/download/file.php?id=22712&mode=view|title=Picture|work=nwdiveclub.com}}</ref> commentary,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=22970|title=Birds diving beyond 50ft down and going horizontally there?!|work=NWDiveClub.com|publisher=Northwest Dive Club}}</ref> and existing reference video<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I17YoPc0L2I| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211103/I17YoPc0L2I| archive-date=3 November 2021 | url-status=live|title=Cormorants Deep Sea Dive Caught on Camera|publisher=[[Wildlife Conservation Society]]|date=14 December 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref>). Imperial shags fitted with miniaturized video recorders have been filmed diving to depths of as much as {{convert|80|m|-1||}} to forage on the sea floor.<ref name="Selfies">{{cite journal |last1=Gómez-Laich |first1=Agustina |last2=Yoda |first2=Ken |last3=Zavalaga |first3=Carlos |last4=Quintana |first4=Flavio |title=Selfies of Imperial Cormorants (Phalacrocorax atriceps): What Is Happening Underwater? |journal=PLOS ONE |date=14 September 2015 |volume=10 |issue=9 |pages=e0136980 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0136980 |pmid=26367384 |pmc=4569182 |bibcode=2015PLoSO..1036980G |doi-access=free }}</ref>
[[File:Cormorant at Kanjia Lake, Bhubaneswar.JPG|thumb|Wing-drying behaviour in a little cormorant]]

After fishing, cormorants go ashore, and are frequently seen holding their wings out in the sun. All cormorants have [[Uropygial gland|preen gland]] secretions that are used ostensibly to keep the feathers waterproof. Some sources<ref>Cramp S, Simmons KEL (1977) Handbook of the Birds of the Western Palearctic Volume 1, Oxford University Press {{ISBN|0-19-857358-8}}</ref> state that cormorants have waterproof feathers while others say that they have water-''permeable'' feathers.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=J. Exp. Biol.|year=1968|volume=48|pages=185–189|title=The water repellency and feather structure of cormorants, Phalacrocoracidae|url=http://jeb.biologists.org/content/48/1/185|author=Rijke AM|doi=10.1242/jeb.48.1.185|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Marchant S. M.  |author2=Higgins, P. J. |year=1990|title= Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Vol 1A.|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> Still others suggest that the outer plumage absorbs water but does not permit it to penetrate the layer of air next to the skin.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Hennemann, W. W., III|year=1984|title=Spread-winged behaviour of double-crested and flightless cormorants ''Phalacrocorax auritus'' and ''P. harrisi'': wing drying or thermoregulation?|journal= Ibis|volume=126|pages=230–239|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1984.tb08002.x|issue=2}}</ref> The wing drying action is seen even in the flightless cormorant but not in the Antarctic shags<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cook |first1=Timothee R. |last2=Leblanc |first2=Guillaume |title=Why is wing-spreading behaviour absent in blue-eyed shags? |journal=Animal Behaviour |date=September 2007 |volume=74 |issue=3 |pages=649–652 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.11.024 }}</ref> or red-legged cormorants. Alternate functions suggested for the spread-wing posture include that it aids [[thermoregulation]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Curry-Lindahl |first1=Kai |title=Spread-Wing Postures in Pelecaniformes and Ciconiiformes |journal=The Auk |date=1970 |volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=371–372 |doi=10.2307/4083936 |jstor=4083936 }}</ref> or digestion, balances the bird, or indicates presence of fish. A detailed study of the great cormorant concluded there is little doubt that it serves to dry the plumage.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Sellers, R. M. |year=1995 |title=Wing-spreading behavior of the cormorant ''Phalacrocorax carbo'' |url=http://www.avibirds.com/pdf/a/aalscholver28.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Ardea |volume=83 |pages=27–36 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017163219/http://www.avibirds.com/pdf/A/Aalscholver28.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2018 |access-date=11 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Pelicans, Cormorants and Their Relatives: Pelecanidae, Sulidae, Phalacrocoracidae, Anhingidae, Fregatidae, Phaethontidae|url=https://archive.org/details/pelicanscormoran00nels|url-access=limited|author=Nelson, J. Bryan |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|isbn=0-19-857727-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/pelicanscormoran00nels/page/n176 162]–163}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bernstein |first1=Neil |last2=Maxson |first2=Stephen |title=Absence of Wing-spreading Behavior in the Antarctic Blue-eyed Shag (phalacrocorax Atriceps Bransfieldensis) |journal=The Auk |date=8 September 2024 |volume=99 |issue=3 |url=https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/auk/vol99/iss3/40/ }}</ref>

Cormorants are colonial nesters, using trees, rocky islets, or cliffs. The [[bird egg|eggs]] are a chalky-blue colour. There is usually one brood a year. Parents [[regurgitation (digestion)|regurgitate]] food to feed their young.