Neotropic Cormorant

How to find it

On the coast, look for it perched on rocks, jetties or mangrove branches, and watch for it diving for fish in the ocean and in estuaries. Inland, scan sheltered water such as fish farms, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, inlets and bays. Boats put you at water level: the river and lagoon trips of the northern plains, the Tempisque River trip in the Palo Verde wetlands and the boat tour at the mouth of the Tárcoles River all list it. Around Lake Arenal, the peninsula trails offer views, along with Great Egret. Look up as well as across, since it may sit on wires and treetop branches.

How to recognise it

Look for a nearly all-black waterbird with a snaky neck. These marks are described for the species across its whole range.

- Smaller and longer-tailed than other cormorants.

- Breeding adults have a sharp white border around the yellow throat pouch.

- The pouch ends in a point at the back.

- The pouch is small, pale yellowish brown and V-shaped.

That long tail is one of the best marks to check when you compare it with its larger northern relative, the Double-crested Cormorant.

What it sounds like

Recording: Naelin, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

Neotropic Cormorants forage in groups. They advance in a line and push fish into shallow water, then all dive at once. Its feathers soak through easily, which lowers its buoyancy and lets it stay under water to chase small fish.

After fishing it often sits with its wings spread open to dry them. Unlike many cormorants, it may also perch on utility wires and on thin branches in treetops. It often fishes in sheltered water, and it makes strong seasonal movements that follow changes in water level in its habitat.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it lives on both coasts. It uses bays, estuaries, inland lakes and rivers, and it feeds in clear, shallow water in rivers, ponds, salt water and mangroves. Across its range it uses salt, brackish and fresh water, including sea shores, lakes and marshes.

For nesting it uses cliffs, islands and mangrove trees by the water. A tour site calls Guanacaste on the Pacific side especially good.

When to see it

At a lagoon in the northern plains, a nesting colony of 400 pairs or more is reported between August and April. Elsewhere, nesting is given as November to March.

Similar birds

A Costa Rican tour site calls it the only cormorant in the country, so confusion with other cormorants is unlikely. The Double-crested Cormorant ranges farther north. It is bigger, with a large, rounded, bright orange-yellow pouch, while the Neotropic has a small, pale, V-shaped pouch and a clearly longer tail. The Anhinga, which locals call pato aguja, is the lookalike here: the cormorant has a larger head and a shorter neck and tail.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Ricans call it Pato de Agua or Pato Chancho, as well as Cormorán Neotropical. 'Chancho' means pig, and the name comes from the call, which sounds like the grunt of a pig. Other Spanish names from the same voice include Pato Cerdo, Pato Puerco and Pato Gruñón, the grunting duck.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists it as a resident (R), and a Costa Rican tour site describes it as a common sight and not threatened, with Least Concern from the IUCN.

Photography tips

Boats give water-level views, and perches on rocks, jetties and mangrove branches on the coast make steady subjects. Watch for wings held open to dry, and for groups advancing in a line before they dive together.