Galapagos Cormorant

Phalacrocorax harrisi. Also flightless cormorant.Origin: unknown. Second half of 19th century.

The only flightless cormorant is extremely rare both in the wild and in museum collections. When and how this specimen came to the NHM is undocumented.

WING STUBS
The habitat of the Galapagos cormorant is tiny: this bird is found only on the two Galapagos Islands of Isabela and Fernandina. Since there was originally no threat from predators there and the nearby shorelines provided abundant food, in the course of evolution the species lost its ability to fly.
Galapagos cormorants can grow to nearly a meter tall and weigh up to four kilograms – twice as much as their flying relatives. These excellent divers hunt for fish and small octopus in the cold, oxygen-rich sea water. Like all cormorants, their feathers are not water-repellent; after diving for food they spend a great deal of time drying their plumage in the sun.
Female Galapagos cormorants often breed twice a year, but find a new mate for each brood and leave the male to care for the young. On average, only one in three chicks survive.
Today the Galapagos cormorant is not only one of the rarest seabirds, it is also one of the most endangered. Their days of living without enemies are long past. Humans brought cats, dogs and pigs to the islands – mortal danger for animals that know no fear and cannot fly! Fishing nets, oil pollution, and climate changes also represent new threats. The 1983 climate phenomenon El Niño alone reduced the Galapagos cormorant population by 50 per cent: only around 400 birds survived. Current estimates indicate that there are now about 1,500 cormorants on Galapagos – too few to secure the long-term survival of the species.