Custer, T. W., and Bunck, C., 1992, Feeding flights of breeding double-crested
cormorants at two Wisconsin colonies: Journal of Field Ornithology, v. 63, no. 2, p.
203-211.

Abstract

Unmarked Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus ) were followed by
airplane from Cat  Island and Spider Island, two nesting colonies in Wisconsin, to their
first landing site. Cormorants flew an  average of 2.0 km from Cat Island (maximum
40 km) and 2.4 km from Spider Island (maximum 12 km). The  mean direction of
landing sites differed seasonally for flights from Spider Island, but not from Cat Island, 
Cormorants generally landed in Green Bay or Lake Michigan and rarely landed in
inland lakes or ponds. The  most frequent water depth at landing sites for each colony
was < 9.1 m. Water depths  greater than or equal to   9.1 m were used less frequently
than available within the maximum observed flight distance for each colony. The 
average flight speed for cormorants was 61 km/h.

Keywords

Phalacrocorax-auritus, flight-activity, feeding-behaviour, USA,-Wisconsin,
aquatic-birds, flight-behaviour