Great Cormorant vs Roseate Spoonbill
Phalacrocorax carbo compared with Platalea ajaja
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Great Cormorant | Roseate Spoonbill |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Phalacrocorax carbo | Platalea ajaja |
| Order | Suliformes | Pelecaniformes |
| Family | Phalacrocoracidae | Threskiornithidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 90.0 cm (35.4 in) | 81.0 cm (31.9 in) |
| Wingspan | 145.0 cm (57.1 in) | 127.0 cm (50.0 in) |
| Weight | 2600.0 g (91.71 oz) | 1500.0 g (52.91 oz) |
| Diet | Fish caught by diving from the surface. Pursues prey underwater using powerful feet for propulsion. … | Small fish, crustaceans, aquatic insects, and plant material filtered from shallow water by sweeping the … |
| Clutch Size | 1-7 | 1-7 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Great Cormorant
Coasts, estuaries, lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. Nests in colonies in trees, on cliffs, or on the ground.
Roseate Spoonbill
Shallow coastal lagoons, estuaries, mangroves, and freshwater marshes. Nests in colonies in trees and shrubs.
Song & Call Comparison
Great Cormorant
Deep, guttural grunts and 'karrr' calls at colonies. Bill-clicking and hissing in threat displays. Silent at sea. Colonial noise can be deafening during the breeding season.
Roseate Spoonbill
Low, grunting and guttural croaking sounds at nesting colonies. Generally quiet. Alarm calls are softer croaks. Vocalizations lack melodic quality; purely functional colony sounds.
Geographic Range & Migration
Great Cormorant
Very wide range across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. One of the most widespread cormorant species.
Roseate Spoonbill
Southeastern United States, Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America to Argentina.
Conservation Status
Great Cormorant
Roseate Spoonbill
How to Tell Them Apart
Great Cormorant
All black with a bronze-green gloss. White throat patch and white thigh patches in breeding season. Yellow-orange face patch around the bill base.
Long, hooked, dark bill with a yellow gape
Roseate Spoonbill
Vivid pink body plumage with darker carmine on the wings. Bare greenish-grey head. White neck and back. Intensity of pink depends on diet.
Long, flat, spatulate greyish bill used for sweeping through shallow water
About These Birds
Great Cormorant
The great cormorant is one of the most widespread seabirds in the world. Unlike most waterbirds, cormorants lack fully waterproof plumage, leading to the iconic pose of standing with wings spread open to dry. In Asia, cormorants have been used by fishermen to catch fish for over a thousand years.
Roseate Spoonbill
The roseate spoonbill is the only spoonbill species in the Americas and one of the most striking wading birds in the Western Hemisphere. Like flamingos, their pink color comes from carotenoid pigments in their crustacean prey. Nearly hunted to extinction for their plumes in the 19th century, they have recovered substantially.