Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.

In most of the United States, if you spot a dark, long-necked bird standing near water with its wings outstretched, it’s almost certainly a cormorant (unless you’re in Florida or on the Gulf Coast, where it might also be an anhinga). Odds are, it’s a double-crested cormorant, the most widespread and numerous of North American cormorant species. They stretch out their wings because they do not produce enough preen oil to “waterproof” their feathers; after swimming and diving, they have to hang themselves out to dry.

The double-crested cormorant is generally thought of as a mostly black bird with an orange-yellow face. Look carefully, though, and you’ll see the “black” is a rich charcoal and the wings aren’t black at all, but a medley of coffees and dark chocolate. The breeding crests that inspire the species’ common name varies in color from charcoal to a bright white, and the breeding birds I’ve observed typically show a mix of the two.

Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).

Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.