Flightless Cormorant

Galápagos · flightless birds · ocean birds · evolution

Only flightless cormorant. Out of all the cormorant species in the world, the Galápagos cormorant is the only one that lost the ability to fly. Its wings became smaller and weaker over time because it didn't need to fly to find food in the ocean.

Galápagos home only. This amazing bird lives nowhere else on Earth except the Galápagos Islands. It is endemic, meaning it evolved and adapted to live only in this special place.

Expert swimmer instead. Since this cormorant cannot fly, it became an incredible swimmer and diver instead. It uses its strong legs and body to zoom through the ocean hunting for fish.

Special genus placement. Scientists have moved this bird between different genus categories as they learned more about it. In 2021, experts decided it belonged in the genus Nannopterum along with a couple other American cormorant species.