The Great Comorant

The great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, known as the 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 and South America. A black bird with glossy feathers perches on a slender tree branch, surrounded by a lush green forest. Its beak is slightly open as it observes its surroundings in the dappled sunlight.