Neotropical cormorant – Our Tambopata Amazon rainforest is home to more than 600 bird species
26 November 2025 (156 visits)The neotropical cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum) is a resident species in the Amazon rainforest we help to protect. It is one of more than 600 bird species that thrive in Tambopata National Reserve and our own Tambopata Private Conservation Area, where we offer our guided Amazon jungle tours.
On the Tambopata River, neotropical cormorants can be seen during boat trips, diving for fish or perching on branches, logs or dead trees, with their wings outspread to dry after swimming. While adults are mostly black, immature birds have a dark brown breast, and a yellow bill. Adults can also be distinguished from other cormorants by their orange-brown throat patch, which is framed by a narrow white border. The adult neotropical cormorant stands at around 65 centimeters (25 inches) tall, and it has a wingspan of approximately one meter (39 inches). It is a slender and elegant bird, with a long tail.
With its streamlined body and webbed feet, the neotropical cormorant is an excellent swimmer and pursuit diver. In the rivers and lakes of Tambopata, this species feeds mostly on small fish, and it will also hunt frogs and aquatic insects. With their sheltered waters, lakes in the forest surrounding our jungle lodge, including Lake Sachavacayoc and Lake Condenado, offer the perfect habitat for neotropical cormorants. It is around these lakes that cormorants tend to build their nests. These structures consist of a platform made from sticks with a depression in the middle that is lined with grass. Nests are usually situated a couple of meters above the ground or water, in undergrowth or trees.
Neotropical cormorants are solitary birds outside the breeding season, although occasionally they can be seen hunting in small flocks, when they beat the water to drive schools of fish forward. Here in Tambopata birds including cormorants can be observed throughout the year. While the dry season, from May to November, is a good time for birdwatching, many bird species are also particularly active during the rainy season, when rainforest trees produce fruit. Early mornings and just before dusk are typically the best times for bird sightings.
