Changes

[[Image:Pelagic_cormorant.jpg|thumb|300px|Pelagic Cormorant adult on an empty nest]][[Image:Pelagic_cormorant.jpg|thumb|200px|A Pelagic Cormorant adult with 3 large chicks]]The '''Pelagic Cormorant''' and the [[Red-faced Cormorant]] are two of the three species of [[cormorants]] that nest in [[Alaska]. They differ from the third cormorant species, the [[Double-crested Cormorant]], in that they are strictly [[marine]] birds. Cormorants are part of a large family of seabirds that includes [[pelicans]], boobies, tropicbirds, and frigatebirds. They are diving birds that use their large webbed feet to swim underwater in search of [[food]]. They like to eat a wide variety of foods but their favorite is fish that live close to the ocean floor. Their feathers are different from other diving birds in that they are not naturally waterproof. In order to waterproof their feathers, cormorants must spend a lot of time preening or grooming their feathers with oil they collect on their bills from a gland at the base of their tail.

[[Image:Pelagic_cormorant.jpg|thumb|300px|Pelagic Cormorant adult on an empty nest]][[Image:Pelagic_cormorant.gif|thumb|200px|A Pelagic Cormorant adult with 3 large chicks]]The '''Pelagic Cormorant''' and the [[Red-faced Cormorant]] are two of the three species of [[cormorants]] that nest in [[Alaska]. They differ from the third cormorant species, the [[Double-crested Cormorant]], in that they are strictly [[marine]] birds. Cormorants are part of a large family of seabirds that includes [[pelicans]], boobies, tropicbirds, and frigatebirds. They are diving birds that use their large webbed feet to swim underwater in search of [[food]]. They like to eat a wide variety of foods but their favorite is fish that live close to the ocean floor. Their feathers are different from other diving birds in that they are not naturally waterproof. In order to waterproof their feathers, cormorants must spend a lot of time preening or grooming their feathers with oil they collect on their bills from a gland at the base of their tail.

Unlike many other seabirds, cormorants do not like to stray far from their nesting colonies on land. There they build large nests out of whatever plant material they can find and are not above stealing it from one of their unsuspecting neighbors. Often one bird of the pair will present a piece of grass or seaweed to its mate as a way of strengthening their bond.

Unlike many other seabirds, cormorants do not like to stray far from their nesting colonies on land. There they build large nests out of whatever plant material they can find and are not above stealing it from one of their unsuspecting neighbors. Often one bird of the pair will present a piece of grass or seaweed to its mate as a way of strengthening their bond.