General Description: Neotropic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) are black, diving birds with a long, hooked bill and a yellow-orange throat patch. There is a narrow band of white feathers between the black facial feathers and the yellowish throat patch. Adults are jet black; juveniles are lighter brown on the neck and breast.

Compared to Double-crested Cormorants (DCCO), the species expected around Las Vegas, Neotropic Cormorants (NECO) are smaller (shorter body length and shorter wingspan), have a proportionally longer tail, have white feathers around the yellow gular skin, have a dark lore, have a shorter more dainty bill, and the bare yellow throat patch is relatively small (as if the base of the gular pouch is covered with feathers).

Taxonomy: Suliformes, Phalacrocoracidae

Favored Habitat: Anywhere with fish to eat: freshwater, brackish marshes, and open ocean.

Where to Find: Don't look for Neotropic Cormorants around Las Vegas. Rather, look for them along the south coast of Texas and southward into South America. Around Las Vegas, keep an eye out for them during migration in places like Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs, where this confused bird showed up in August 2012.

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