Great Cormorant

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered Endemic
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Plitvice Lakes National Park
48 Verified sightings at Plitvice Lakes National Park From 2019 to 2026
42,554 Verified sightings across all 125 parks From 2019 to 2026
November Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Great Cormorant

The great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), also known as just cormorant in Britain, as black shag or kawau in New Zealand, formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It breeds in much of the Old World, Australasia, and the Atlantic coast of North America.

The great cormorant was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Pelecanus carbo. Linnaeus specified the type location as "Europe", but this was restricted to the "rock-nesting form of the north Atlantic Ocean" by the German ornithologist Ernst Hartert in 1920. The great cormorant is now one of 12 species placed in the genus Phalacrocorax that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The genus name is Latinised Ancient Greek, from φαλακρός (phalakros, "bald") and κόραξ (korax, "raven"); the specific epithet carbo is Latin for "charcoal".

Six subspecies are accepted. These are listed below with their breeding ranges... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~70%
2 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~60%
3 Hortobágy National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~60%
4 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~50%
5 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
~50%
6 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~50%
7 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
~40%
8 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
9 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~40%
10 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~40%
11 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~40%
12 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~30%
13 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
14 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
15 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~30%
16 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
~30%
17 Namib-Naukluft National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
~30%
18 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
19 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
20 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
21 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~30%
22 Maria Island National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
23 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
24 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~30%
25 Nikko National Park 🇯🇵 Japan
~30%
26 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
27 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
28 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~30%
29 Fiordland National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~20%
30 Freycinet National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
31 Booderee National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
32 Vatnajokull National Park 🇮🇸 Iceland
~20%
33 Table Mountain National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
34 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~20%
35 Tongariro National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~20%
36 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~20%
37 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~20%
38 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
39 Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
40 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
~20%
41 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
42 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
43 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~20%
44 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
45 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
46 Cape Breton Highlands National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
47 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~20%
48 Plitvice Lakes National Park 🇭🇷 Croatia
~10%
49 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
~10%
50 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~10%
51 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
52 Arthur's Pass National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~10%
53 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~10%
54 Royal National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
55 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
56 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
57 Flinders Chase 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
58 Wilsons Promontory National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
59 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
~10%
60 Noosa National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
61 Abel Tasman National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~10%
62 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
63 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
64 Acadia National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
65 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
66 Kosciuszko National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
67 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
68 Grampians National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
69 Aoraki Mount Cook National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~10%
70 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
71 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
72 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
73 Egmont National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~10%
74 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
75 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
76 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
77 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
<5%
78 Volcanoes National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
79 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
<5%
80 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
81 Hwange National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
<5%
82 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
83 Khangchendzonga National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
84 Lower Zambezi National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
<5%
85 Gauja National Park 🇱🇻 Latvia
<5%
86 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
87 Gros Morne National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
88 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
89 Mana Pools National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
<5%
90 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
91 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
92 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
93 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
94 Ningaloo Marine Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
95 Rakiura National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
<5%
96 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
97 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
98 Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park 🇲🇳 Mongolia
<5%
99 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
100 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
101 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
102 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
103 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
104 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
105 Lamington National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
106 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
107 Awash National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
Insufficient data
108 Golden Gate Highlands National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
109 Jiuzhaigou National Park 🇨🇳 China
Insufficient data
110 Thingvellir National Park 🇮🇸 Iceland
Insufficient data
111 Gir National Park 🇮🇳 India
Insufficient data
112 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
Insufficient data
113 Vanoise National Park 🇫🇷 France
Insufficient data
114 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
Insufficient data
115 Tatra National Park 🇸🇰 Slovakia
Insufficient data
116 Hohe Tauern National Park 🇦🇹 Austria
Insufficient data
117 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
118 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
Insufficient data
119 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data
120 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data
121 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
Insufficient data
122 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data
123 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
Insufficient data
124 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
Insufficient data
125 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Great Cormorant in Plitvice Lakes National Park?

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great Cormorant sighting in Plitvice Lakes National Park, based on 48 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Great Cormorant in Plitvice Lakes National Park?

November has the highest sighting rate for Great Cormorant in Plitvice Lakes National Park in our monthly data.

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