Great cormorantKormoran Phalacrocorax carbo
Family: Cormorants and shags
A large, dark waterbird with a hooked bill and a snake-like neck; adults have a white throat and, in spring, a white thigh patch and a frosted head. Cormorants swim low in the water, dive for fish and dry their wings spread wide on posts and branches. After near extinction in Germany they have recovered strongly and now breed in colonies on many lakes and along the coasts.