Pelagic Cormorant (Urile pelagicus)

OTHER NAMES: Baird's Cormorant, Violet-green Cormorant

Latin Etymology: Urile (Russian name for Red-faced cormorant) pelagicus ("marine/pelagic")

                             Winter plumage Pelagic Cormorant (subspecies P. p. pelagicus) at Shiranuka, Japan - December 2014

Featured Subspecies: Urile pelagicus pelagicus

Weight: 1.4-2.4kg  /  Length: 64-89cm  /  Wingspan: 100cm

ABSENT FROM UK / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Pelagic Cormorant is a fairly small cormorant found around the rim of the Northern Pacific, from Southern Japan to Mexico. I saw this species twice, both times in Hokkaido.  Despite the name, both of the individuals I saw were close in to shore, the former close out on the sea, and this second individual that the picture above shows one that was feeding inside Shiranuka harbour itself.

Related Species:
Order: Suliformes
Family: Phalacrocoracidae
Genus: Urile
Subspecies: U. p. pelagicus, U. p. resplendens

 - Sighting Locations -

JAPAN - Japanese - ヒメウ  /  Hime-u ("Princess Cormorant")

Widespread Coastal Resident

 - TOKYO/HOKKAIDO 2014 TRIP: Seen at Shiranuka (1 Winter plumage adult, on the sea) and Akkeshi (1 Winter Plumage adult, on the sea)

UNITED STATES 
Found along the Pacific Coast
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at San Francisco and on Half Moon Bay Pelagic Trip

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto