---
title: "Little Cormorant"
description: "Microcarbo niger — Birds. The little cormorant (Microcarbo niger) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/little-cormorant
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Little Cormorant

> Microcarbo niger — Birds. The little cormorant (Microcarbo niger) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds.

- Scientific name: *Microcarbo niger*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 14056
- Wikidata: [Q72260](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q72260)
- iNaturalist taxon: [497004](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/497004)

## Names

- en: Little Cormorant
- de: Mohrenscharbe
- es: Cormorán de Java
- fr: Cormoran de Vieillot
- nl: Indische dwergaalscholver
- pt: Biguá-pequeno
- pl: Kormoran skromny

## Countries with the most observations

IN (8266), TH (1963), LK (965), VN (304), KH (158), NP (154), MY (141), BD (129), ID (88), MM (68), PK (29), CN (20)

## Summary

The little cormorant (Microcarbo niger) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. Slightly smaller than the Indian cormorant it lacks a peaked head and has a shorter beak. It is widely distributed across the Indian subcontinent and extends east to Java, where it is sometimes called the Javanese cormorant. It forages singly or sometimes in loose groups in lowland freshwater bodies, including small ponds, large lakes, streams and sometimes coastal estuaries. Like other cormorants, it is often found perched on a waterside rock with its wings spread out after coming out of the water. The entire body is black in…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_cormorant

## Photo

![Little Cormorant](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/little-cormorant/medium.jpg)

Photo: citi2024 · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/285542396

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/little-cormorant?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).