116. Pygmy Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmeus)

I'm back! The non-stop revision is over and the exam is done, hurrah. I think it went OK but who knows, I will find out how I did next month. So, to continue where I left off.....

Pygmy Cormorants really are rather small, being around the size of a Coot. Apart from the obvious size difference, Pygmy Cormorants have a much longer tail than the other members of the cormorant  family covered, a shorter bill and a shorter neck although this can appear longer when the Pygmy Cormorant stretches it. The adult's breeding plumage is blackish green with a bronzy sheen, and outside of the breeding season it has a pale chin and browner chest. Like the other cormorants, it is pretty sociable and forms small flocks with others of its kind.

Their preferred habitat is coastal wetlands, freshwater lakes, reedbeds and wet meadows, and they are distributed mainly around parts of the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and Middle East. Some populations are sedentary and others migrate short distances to their breeding grounds.

Pygmy Cormorant, ©Martin Mecnarowski, via Wikimedia Commons.

Pygmy Cormorant sketch.

I didn't have time to finish this and was worried I might be a bit out of practice, I don't think it is too shonky though all things considered.