Wednesday 16 November 2022

[cobirds] Odd bird with features of both a cormorant and a booby

This is the strangest post I've ever made on Cobirds. On Monday, Nov 14, 2022, at dusk I visited Fossil Creek Reservoir in Larimer County.  While perusing a dense flock of cormorants perched across the lake through my telescope I noticed one with a large pale bill. See the enlarged/cropped photo inserted here. More photos are available on my eBird checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S122445043. This odd bird appeared to be a larger cormorant with a larger thicker bill, and I also noticed a blue tinge to the bill and feet. The bill shape reminded me of a Booby. This was one strange bird! Unfortunately it disappeared in the dense flock as the sun went down and hasn't been seen since. Please check your local cormorant flock and report back if you find it. If it is indeed a hybrid the question will then be what species are the parents. Needless to say, this bird is super interesting and needs better documentation.  Note that most scientists consider interbreeding between a cormorant and a Booby to be impossible. 

Nick Komar
Fort Collins CO

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