Brandt’s Cormorant
Urile penicillatus
- Family
- Cormorants and Shags (Phalacrocoracidae)
- Order
- Suliformes
Overview
Brandt's cormorant (Urile penicillatus) is a strictly marine bird of the cormorant family of seabirds that inhabits the Pacific coast of North America. It ranges, in the summer, from Alaska to the Gulf of California, but the population north of Vancouver Island migrates south during the winter. Its specific name, penicillatus is Latin for a painter's brush (pencil of hairs), in reference to white plumes on its neck and back during the early breeding season. The common name honors the German naturalist Johann Friedrich von Brandt of the Academy of Sciences at St.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Coastal southern Alaska to Baja California including Gulf of California (northwestern Mexico).
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Continents
Countries
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Brandt's cormorant
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
