Microcarbo pygmaeus
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The pygmy cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus) is a member of the Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant) family of seabirds. It breeds in south-eastern Europe and south-western Asia. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further south, mostly within its breeding range. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe.
The pygmy cormorant occupies an area from the south-east of Europe (east of Italy) and the south-west of temperate Asia, east to Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The largest distribution is in south-east Europe, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, the Balkan countries, Turkey, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq (namely the Tigris–Euphrates river system), Azerbaijan, Palestine, Syria.
In Romania, according to studies of Czech ornithologist Robert Ritter von Dombrowski, at the end of the 19th century, the pygmy cormorant was present in large colonies in the Danube Delta, Brăila and Ialomița Pond, on Vederoasa Lake (Constanța County), on certain pools and ponds with reeds and willows in Muntenia. The number of pygmy cormorant pairs was 10,000 without taking in account the breeding population of the Danube Delta. Populations of pygmy cormorant in Romania... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Pygmy Cormorant sighting in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, based on 35 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 145th most-seen of the 170 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pygmy Cormorant in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September and November–July, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pygmy Cormorant sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Pygmy Cormorant sightings, Bavarian Forest National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Hortobágy National Park (Hungary, about 60%), Fertő-Hanság National Park (Hungary, about 40%) and Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pygmy Cormorant is recorded against all the birds logged in Bavarian Forest National Park (35 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
