Phalacrocorax harrisi
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The flightless cormorant (Nannopterum harrisi), also known as the Galápagos cormorant, is a cormorant endemic to the Galápagos Islands, and an example of the highly unusual fauna there. It is unique in that it is the only known cormorant that has lost the ability to fly. It was placed in its own genus, Nannopterum, but was later placed with most of the other cormorants in the genus Phalacrocorax. A 2014 study supported reclassifying it and two other American cormorant species back into Nannopterum. The IOU followed this classification in 2021.
The flightless cormorant is the largest extant member of its family, measuring 89–100 cm (35–39.5 in) in length and weighing 2.5–5.0 kg (5.5–11.0 lb), and its wings are about one-third the size that would be required for a bird of its proportions to fly. The keel on the breastbone, where birds attach the large muscles needed for flight, is also significantly reduced.
Like all cormorants, this bird has webbed feet and sturdy legs that propel it through the water as it seeks its prey of fish, small octopuses, and other little marine creatures. The species feeds near the sea floor and no more than 200 metres offshore. The flightless... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Flightless Cormorant sighting in Galápagos Islands on a given day, based on 1,850 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 47th most-seen of the 114 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and April
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Flightless Cormorant in Galápagos Islands on a given day, against about 10% in May to February, the lowest months. Those are among Galápagos Islands's wettest months, with about 45 mm of rain a month against almost none in August.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Flightless 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.
Only Galápagos Islands, in our data
Galápagos Islands is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Flightless Cormorant sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Suliformes
The closest relatives of the Flightless Cormorant that you can see in Galápagos Islands (order Suliformes, Gannets, Cormorants, and Allies) are Blue-footed Booby (about 80%), Magnificent Frigatebird (about 80%) and Nazca Booby (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Flightless Cormorant is recorded against all the birds logged in Galápagos Islands (1,850 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.
