Phalacrocorax neglectus
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The bank cormorant (Phalacrocorax neglectus), also known as Wahlberg's cormorant, is a medium-sized cormorant that is endemic to Namibia and the western seaboard of South Africa, living in and around coastal waters; it is rarely recorded more than 15 km offshore.
The bank cormorant is a heavy-bodied bird, roughly 75 cm in length. It is generally black in appearance with a bronze sheen, though the wings are a dark brown rather than a true black. Adults have a small crest on their heads, and normally have a white rump. Pale eyes in an all black face are considered to be distinctive for adults, with immature birds having dark eyes.
A prime food for these birds is the cape rock lobster Jasus lalandii, and their feeding distribution closely matches the kelp beds where these lobsters live, though the birds will also take a variety of other crustacean and fish prey, notably bearded goby Sufflogobius bibarbatus.
The birds may breed at any time of the year, laying two or three chalky-white eggs in a nest constructed from seaweed and guano. Numbers of these birds have been declining sharply in recent decades, partly because of commercial fishing... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bank Cormorant sighting in West Coast National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 175th most-seen of the 192 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bank Cormorant in West Coast National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bank Cormorant sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Bank Cormorant sightings, West Coast National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same genus: Phalacrocorax
The closest relatives of the Bank Cormorant that you can see in West Coast National Park (genus Phalacrocorax, Typical Old World Cormorants) are Great Cormorant (about 40%) and Cape Cormorant (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bank Cormorant is recorded against all the birds logged in West Coast National Park (9 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.
