Birdsong field guide
Pallas's Cormorant
Urile perspicillatus
A giant, extinct marine bird from the North Pacific, noted for being the largest known cormorant species and possessing very limited flight capabilities.
What it sounds like
Not documented before extinction, though likely consisted of low, guttural croaks and harsh grunts common to the Urile genus.
Reference call, compare with what you heard
No reference call found yet · Xeno-canto
Field notes
- It was the largest cormorant ever recorded, reaching weights of up to 6 kilograms, nearly double that of most modern cormorants.
- Discovered by Georg Steller in 1741, the species was driven to extinction by 1850 due to intensive hunting for its meat and feathers.
- The bird was nicknamed the 'spectacled cormorant' because of the prominent rings of bare, bluish-white skin around its eyes.
- Though technically capable of flight, its heavy build and small wings made it a clumsy, reluctant flier and extremely vulnerable on land.
- Steller reported that a single bird provided enough meat to feed three men, which accelerated its exploitation by shipwrecked crews and fur traders.
Habitat
Remote rocky shorelines and coastal cliffs.
Range
Bering Island in the Commander Islands, Russia.
Similar & commonly confused birds
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