On 15 October 2020, Erika and I walked down a lesser-populated stretch of Olympia’a Capitol Lake. Double-crested Cormorants often lounge about a stump near the lakeshore. I did a double-take at the wide, white line behind this bird’s yellow throat. Could this bird be a Neotropical Cormorant? I think the yellow stripe from the bird’s eye connecting with the upper mandible of the bill precludes such a rash identification. This bird’s bill is too robust for a Neotropical Cormorant and the bird is too large for that species.
Two days later found us at the same location. About a half-dozen Double-crested Cormorants perched on and swam near the stump. Two of the birds vigorously bathed nearby. Was this some sort of cormorant courtship? I can find no mention of such behavior in a quick review of the literature. I think these two birds were just bathing near each other. Bathing in cormorants involves a lot of vigorous wing slapping on the water surface. The resulting shower of water wets the birds’ backs.
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