Little Cormorant

Little Cormorant

Microcarbo niger

Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Salem

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

366 Verified sightings at Salem
19,116 In all 29 parks From 2019 to 2026
October Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Little Cormorant

The little cormorant (Microcarbo niger) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. Slightly smaller than the Indian cormorant it lacks a peaked head and has a shorter beak. It is widely distributed across the Indian subcontinent and extends east to Java, where it is sometimes called the Javanese cormorant. It forages singly or sometimes in loose groups in lowland freshwater bodies, including small ponds, large lakes, streams and sometimes coastal estuaries. Like other cormorants, it is often found perched on a waterside rock with its wings spread out after coming out of the water. The entire body is black in the breeding season but the plumage is brownish, and the throat has a small whitish patch in the non-breeding season. These birds breed gregariously in trees, often joining other waterbirds at heronries.

The little cormorant is about 50 centimetres (20 in) long and only slightly smaller than the Indian cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis). The Indian cormorant has a narrower and longer bill which ends in a prominent hook tip, blue iris and a more pointed head profile. The breeding adult bird has a glistening all black plumage with some white spots and filoplumes... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call1:11

Thailand · 2025

© Greg Irving · XC973069 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~70%
2 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
~70%
3 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~60%
4 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~60%
5 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
~60%
6 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~60%
7 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~50%
8 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~50%
9 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
~40%
10 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~40%
11 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
~40%
12 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
~40%
13 Udawalawe National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~40%
14 Gir National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
15 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
16 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~30%
17 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
18 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
19 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
20 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
21 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
22 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~20%
23 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
24 Khao Luang National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
25 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
26 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
<5%
27 Way Kambas National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
28 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
29 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Savar 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
~80%
2 Vasai-Virar 🇮🇳 India
~70%
3 Raipur 🇮🇳 India
~60%
4 Tamluk 🇮🇳 India
~60%
5 Dhaka 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
~60%
6 Hajipur 🇮🇳 India
~60%
7 Ponnani 🇮🇳 India
~60%
8 Thiruvananthapuram 🇮🇳 India
~60%
9 Kochi 🇮🇳 India
~60%
10 Tiruchirappalli 🇮🇳 India
~50%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens 🇻🇳 Vietnam In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Little Cormorant in Salem?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Little Cormorant sighting in Salem on a given day, based on 366 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 25th most-seen of the 95 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Little Cormorant in Salem?

February and October

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Little Cormorant in Salem on a given day, against about 10% in March and June, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Little Cormorant?

Between 3 and 6 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Little Cormorant sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Salem the best place to see a Little Cormorant?

56th of 76

Of the 76 cities where we can rate Little Cormorant sightings, Salem ranks 56th at about 20%. The best odds are in Savar (Bangladesh, about 80%), Vasai-Virar (India, about 70%) and Raipur (India, about 60%).

Where does the Little Cormorant sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Little Cormorant is recorded against all the birds logged in Salem (366 verified sightings), 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.

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