Townsend's Cormorant
Townsend's CormorantTownsend's CormorantTownsend's CormorantTownsend's Cormorant

Townsend's Cormorant

Urile penicillatus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
5–10% · With luck
overall probability at Olympic National Park
3,640 Verified records at Olympic National Park
October Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's active during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

Brandt's cormorant (Urile penicillatus) is a strictly marine bird of the cormorant family of seabirds that inhabits the Pacific coast of North America. It ranges, in the summer, from Alaska to the Gulf of California, but the population north of Vancouver Island migrates south during the winter. Its specific name, penicillatus is Latin for a painter's brush (pencil of hairs), in reference to white plumes on its neck and back during the early breeding season. The common name honors the German naturalist Johann Friedrich von Brandt of the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg, who described the species from specimens collected on expeditions to the Pacific during the early 19th century. Wikipedia →

5–10% of wildlife watchers report a Townsend's Cormorant sighting in Olympic National Park, based on 3,640 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Closest Relatives at Olympic National Park

Pelagic Cormorant

Pelagic Cormorant

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Phalacrocorax pelagicus

10–20% · With luck
Double-crested Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Phalacrocorax auritus

10–20% · With luck
Nazca Booby
LC

Nazca Booby

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sula granti

Insufficient data
Red-footed Booby
LC

Red-footed Booby

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sula sula

<5% · Rare

📅 Monthly Probability

5–10
Jan
5–10
Feb
5–10
Mar
5–10
Apr
<5
May
<5
Jun
<5
Jul
5–10
Aug
10–20
Sep
20–30
Oct
10–20
Nov
10–20
Dec

☀️ When They're Spotted

Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)

☀️Diurnal
☀️🌙🌙12am6am12pm6pm12am

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Probability
1 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
20–30%
2 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
20–30%
3 Bahía de Loreto National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
20–30%
4 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
10–20%
5 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
10–20%
6 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
5–10%
7 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
5–10%

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Townsend's Cormorant in Olympic National Park?

About 9% of wildlife watchers report a Townsend's Cormorant sighting in Olympic National Park, based on 3,640 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Townsend's Cormorant in Olympic National Park?

October has the highest sighting rate for Townsend's Cormorant in Olympic National Park in our monthly data.

← Back to Olympic National Park