Cormorant

This bird's name is believed to be originated from the Latin corvus marinus, meaning "sea raven". Later, this Latin name was adopted as cormoran in French, in turn it was settled as cormorant in English.

They were sometimes despised, sometimes hated or feared, other times exploited by humans.

Here I give some examples introduced in the book "A History of Birds" by Simon Wills.

1) Cormorants were frequently used as a metaphor for greediness as they were seen as birds with voracious appetite.

For example, Dracula (in the Bram Stoker's Gothic novel) declares

"I have an appetite like a cormorant."

‘The lender of money is a greedy cormorant who would swallow up the borrower.’ (Daniel Sykes MP, 1824)

2) They were also viewed as ominous signs beacuse of their black color and relatively big size. Especially a lonely cormorant drying his wings in the middle of the sea or river could look like a sinister dark angel in the old days.

3) Many centuries ago humans coined a way to use cormorants for fishing. The tamed cormorants were brought to the sea or river by an owner while their heads were covered with hoods.

At water, hoods were taken off, the birds were released for catching fishes, which they could not swallow down because of the collar around their necks. Instead of swallowing their catches, they threw the fishes in the water.

When the owner gave a familar signal, the birds collected the fishes and returned to the boat where they first had to regurgitate the fishes and then were praised with some of their catches.

But the one in my photos was revered by me because he had such beautiful green irises. Enjoy his beauty!

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