Pygmy Cormorant

 The Pygmy Cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus) belongs to the cormorant family (Phalacrocoracidae). It is a relatively small bird with a very long tail and a proportionately short and thick beak. The head is rounded, and the neck is thick and short in appearance (it lengthens when swimming). The length of the body is 45 ÷ 55 [cm], and the wingspan ranges from 75 to 90 [cm]. It has a black color with a dark green and metallic sheen, and the head and neck are brown. In winter the neck is light, while the brown color of the head is less intense. Sexually mature individuals have small white spots on the head, neck and lower body that disappear during the summer. Sexually immature adults have whitish cheeks and lighter brown breasts. Young birds have lighter colors on the underside of the body.   The Pygmy Cormorant is found in reedbeds, in the transitional zone between the reedbeds and open water, wet meadows, and in winter along the sea swamps, along rivers and lakes. This bird nests in colonies where it seeks more willow trees, but can also use floating islands of vegetation in the reedbeds. It nests in Southeast Europe, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Winters mainly in Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania and Syria. In 2006, this species of Europe numbered from 28,000 to 39,000 nesting pairs, a significant increase from 1996 when 13,000 nesting pairs were counted. The Pygmy Cormorant is present in NP Ezerani throughout the year. It is assumed that this type of nests in NP Ezerani, but there are no precise and confirmed data. The Pygmy Cormorant is listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive and Annex II of the Bern Convention, while in R.N. Macedonia has the status of a strictly protected wild species.