Cormorants swim
very low in the water, ready to dive at a likely target. They
can swim quite a distance, popping their heads up long enough
to catch a breath and have a look around.
A
Cormorant pops up for a look around.
This Cormorant is sitting on
a partially submerged piling from the old bridge.
The Cormorant grasps
its catch with the blunt crook on the tip of its short beak.
It is quite adept at tossing a fish into the air and swallowing
it nose first.
In
China fishermen raise Cormorants by hand from birth and train
them to fish for them. They will tie a string around the
birds neck to prevent it swallowing it's catch, and the birds
will dive and return repeatedly with fish they have caught.
They
sometimes join together in communal fishing. They will line
up across the water and move forward with their wings flailing
to drive fish into shallower water to make them easier to
catch.
Cormorants
are similar to Anhingas in appearance
and fishing style, and are often mistaken for each other.
I always check the beak - the Anhinga's beak is long and
sharp, the Cormorant's is short and has a crook at the end.
Cormorants
feathers are very oily to assist their diving and protect them
from exposure to the water. When they are not fishing you will
see them on posts or dead tree branches with their wings spread
to dry in the breeze.