Double-crested Cormorant

This primary flight feather features a striking contrast between its thick, pale base and dark brown-black vane. Double-crested Cormorants are large, dark waterbirds known for their heavy bodies, hooked bills, and classic wing-spreading pose on rocks and sandbars as they dry their feathers after deep underwater hunts.

Uniform dark brownish-black to glossy charcoal black across the vane, with a prominent pale, off-white to ivory-colored basal calamus/shaft.

Tightly interlocking pennaceous barbs along the mid to upper shaft, with a stiff structure designed for diving efficiency; slight separation present near the lower vane.

Rachis is thick, stiff, and pale near the base, darkening toward the tip; barbs are densely packed at a narrow angle to maximize hydrodynamic and aerodynamic propulsion.

Stiff, rigid, and slightly coarse texture; less water-repellent surface typical of cormorant feathers, which wet easily to reduce buoyancy when diving.

Outer primary wing feather (remix), originating from the distal part of the wing (manus).

Distinctive pale/white robust calamus contrasting sharply with a solid dark brownish-black asymmetrical vane, rigid shaft, and coastal washup context.

Coastal beaches, estuaries, bays, lakes, rivers, and coastal islands.

Widespread across North America, from Alaska and Canada down through the United States to Mexico and the Caribbean.

Top aquatic predator feeding primarily on small-to-medium fish, serving as a key indicator of coastal and freshwater aquatic ecosystem health.

Great Cormorant (slightly larger, similar dark primary), Great Black-backed Gull (shows white primary tips), American Crow/Raven (lacks the pale basal calamus characteristic of aquatic diving species).

Cormorants produce less preen oil than ducks, allowing their feathers to absorb water so they can submerge easily and chase fish efficiently.

Cormorants feature in various indigenous cultures along North American coasts and rivers, often symbolic of deep aquatic skill and endurance.

Look along sandy shorelines and rocky jetties near roosting sites. The stark white quill base paired with a solid dark, stiff vane is a classic cormorant signature.

Fair condition; wet and slightly matted from ocean drift and sand contact, with minor splitting along the trailing barbules.