Recently captured footage of a South American sea bird has for the first time allowed researchers to view the feeding techniques of the deep-diving imperial cormorant, now being dubbed “Superbird” by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Fitted with a small camera upon its back, researchers from the WCS and National Council of Argentina “watched stunned” as the cormorant dove the 150 feet to the ocean floor in 40 seconds, where it spent 80 seconds finding a meal before its return to the surface.
The cormorant’s feeding was filmed in Punta León in Patagonia, Argentina, a coastal protected area home to over 3500 pairs of the species.
The WCS scientific team was lead by Dr Flavio Quintana, and has for the past 10 years been studying the feeding behavior of the cormorant.
“This is the first time researchers have been able to watch first-hand the amazing feeding techniques of these fascinating birds”, stated the WCS.
Utilising state-of-the-art technological tools such as multi-channel archival tags and high resolution GPS-loggers, the WCS team has tracked in excess of 400 cormorants along the Patagonian Coast of Argentina.
“This information will help identify priority feeding areas to help design new protected areas and to understand environmental conditions that affect cormorant populations”, added the conservation organisation.
The WCS has been long involved in the Patagonia region, with its work in conservation and its assistance in the establishment of protected areas for local wildlife spanning more than five decades.
