• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note
Following Kennedy and Spencer (2014) the genus Phalacrocorax has been divided into six genera, with P. penicillatus, P. pelagicus and P. urile moved into Urile (HBW and BirdLife International 2018).

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2018. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 3. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v3_Nov18.zip.
Kennedy, M. & Spencer, H. 2014. Classification of the Cormorants of the World. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution. 79: 249-257.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	24,600,000 km2
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	34,100,000 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	8.3 years	-	-	-

Population justification: There is no global population estimate. However, national population estimates include: <100 breeding pairs and c.50-1,000 wintering individuals in China; c.100-10,000 breeding pairs, c.50-1,000 individuals on migration and c.50-1,000 wintering individuals in Korea; c.10,000-100,000 breeding pairs, c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration and c.1,000-10,000 wintering individuals in Japan and c.10,000-100,000 breeding pairs and c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration in Russia (Brazil 2009).

Trend justification: The overall population trend is decreasing, although some populations may be stable and others have unknown trends (Delany and Scott 2006). In North America, this species has had stable population trends over the last 40 years (data from Breeding Bird Survey and/or Christmas Bird Count: Butcher and Niven 2007).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Canada	extant	native		yes		yes
China (mainland)	extant	native
Japan	extant	native
Mexico	extant	native
North Korea	extant	native		yes
Russia	extant	native
Russia (Asian)	extant	native
South Korea	extant	native
Taiwan, China	extant	native
USA	extant	native		yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Russia (Asian)	Avachinskaya Bay and Starichkov Island
Russia (Asian)	Commander Islands
Russia (Asian)	Getlyangen lagoon and Khalyustkin cape
Russia (Asian)	Iony Island
Russia (Asian)	Karaginskiy Island
Russia (Asian)	Senyavina Strait
Russia (Asian)	Sireniki shore of Chukotka
Russia (Asian)	Utashud Island
Russia (Asian)	Verkhoturova Island
USA	Agattu Island Colonies
USA	Amagat & Umga Island Colonies
USA	Amchitka Island Colony
USA	Attu Island Colony
USA	Barren Islands Colonies
USA	Blanco Reef
USA	Crooked Island Colony
USA	Fenimore Pass & Atka Island Marine
USA	Glacier Bay & Icy Strait
USA	Hegemeister Island Colonies
USA	Kachemak Bay
USA	Kiska Island Colonies
USA	Middleton Island Colony
USA	Prince William Sound
USA	Semichi Islands Colonies
USA	Southwest Cape Colonies
USA	St Matthew & Hall Islands Colonies
USA	St Matthew Island Marine

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Caves and Subterranean Habitats (non-aquatic)	Caves	marginal	breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	non-breeding
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)		major	breeding
Altitude	0 - 50 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Climate change & severe weather	Other impacts	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Corvus corax	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Pelagic Cormorant Urile pelagicus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/pelagic-cormorant-urile-pelagicus on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.