The Story
This Neotropic Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum) was at Hacienda El Escobal in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia when I photographed it. It lives on coasts, including some mangroves, and on inland waters. Unlike other cormorants, it is often seen perching on wires. It feeds mainly on small fish, diving and pushing itself underwater with its feet. Groups sometimes beat the water with their wings to drive fish into the shallows. Ibagué, the capital of Tolima, sits on the Central Andes between the Combeima Canyon and the Magdalena valley, near Nevado del Tolima. Hacienda El Escobal is part of the Picaleña lagoon complex, and by eBird’s December 2021 data 309 bird species had been reported there.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. IUCN lists the Neotropic Cormorant as Least Concern, with an increasing population.
©2019 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Neotropic Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum) belongs to the family Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants and Shags) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2018), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List