### animal | vertebrate | bird | sea bird:

Cormorant
* All cormorants live by catching fish while free-swimming beneath the surface.
* add objects like feathers and twigs of evergreen.
* also hunt in flocks with other species.
* appear clumsy trying to get airborne after feeding.
* are another giveaway, they feed on what pike feed on, simple
  - clumsy flyers but among the best divers of all birds
* are common around the waters of North America
  - on the larger pools and on Spring Garden Lake from fall-spring
  - diving birds found along many of the world's coastlines
  - excellent swimmers and divers, and they love to eat fish
  - expert divers, adapted naturally to forage under water for fish
  - fish-catchers
  - fish-eaters and dive for their prey
  - monogamous and breed in colonies of up to three thousand pairs
  - more difficult to catch than penguins because they fly until they become weak
  - opportunistic feeders
  - seabirds
  - susceptible to poisoning from pesticides and other contaminants, and to oil spills
  - terrific fish catchers
  - uniformly dark-colored birds, about the size of a Canada goose
* can only take flight from water.
* chill by perching with wings outspread.
* dive and catch their prey underwater
  - for and feed mainly on fish of little value to man
  - under the water to catch fish
* even nest individually or in groups within pelican colonies.
* form huge rafts on the water during the winter mating season.
* inhabit seacoasts, lakes, and some rivers.
* lack the oil glands that other water birds have so their feathers don t repel water well.
* mainly eat fish.
* nest in both salt and fresh water areas
  - tree tops
* occur all year round though are scarce in summer.
* pursue fish under water, seizing their prey with their hooked bills.
* swim underwater, chasing after their prey.
* use their hooked beak for grasping prey, usually fish.

### animal | vertebrate | bird | sea bird:

Darter
* Most darters are less than four inches long
  - live in clear, fast-moving streams that have gravelly bottoms
* also are sensitive to degraded habitat or water chemistry
  - comprise a smaller percentage of the communities at sites in agricultural basins
* are animals
  - common fishes found in the eastern United States
  - cormorant-like water birds with very long necks and long, straight beaks
  - perchs
  - sexually mature in one year or less
  - strong fliers and migrate annually
* eat a variety of water insects and other fish.
* exhibit a variety of spawning behaviors.
* really seem to intensify coloration when they are provided with good illumination.
* tend to be intolerant of pollution and siltation.
* usually inhabit fairly shallow water and are rather solitary individuals.

### animal | vertebrate | bird | sea bird | darter:

Leopard darter
* have very round spots on their sides with very crisp margins.
* occur in relatively low densities throughout their distribution.

Male darter
* are larger than females.
* use their bright colors to attract females.

Frigate bird
* Some frigate birds steal food.
* are large, with long tails and wings, and a long hooked beak.
* do more than float in the air.
* puff up their colored neck skin and squawk at each other.
* steal food from other fish-eating birds.

### animal | vertebrate | bird | sea bird:

Gannet
* are birds
  - colonial breeders on islands and coasts, normally laying one chalky, blue egg
  - large, oceanic birds with snowy white plumage and extensive black wingtips
  - seabirds about the size of a goose, with long, tapered bills and pointed tails
* breed in dense colonies.
* catch fish by plunging into the shoals from a great height.
* hunting for fish are like guided missiles.
* is the nation's leading newspaper company.
* return to the same nest site each spring and generally mate for life.
* soar above the cliffs on wingspans two metres across.