Unlike other seabirds, cormorants do not venture far from their nesting colony. They build tall, stacked nests out of whatever plant material they can find and are not above stealing it from one of their unsuspecting neighbors. Often, one bird of the pair will present a piece of grass or seaweed to its mate as a way of strengthening their bond.

Unlike the Pelagic and Red-faced cormorants, Double-crested’s are the least picky about where they build their nests, finding comfortable spots on vertical cliff faces, flat ground, and even in trees. Their nests have to be large enough to hold up to four chicks, who grow as large as their parents before they leave the nest for good. Before the young cormorants fledge, they wander from their nest to socialize with other young cormorants in groups called creches.

For most of the year, cormorants wear a rather dull plumage. When the breeding season approaches they dress -up in their best outfits in hopes of attracting a mate. Their dusty gray-black feathers take on an iridescence like that of pea-cock feathers, although not quite as fancy. Depending on the light, their dazzling plumage can look blue, green, purple, black, brown or all of these at once. Double-crested Cormorants grow long white tufts over their eyes before the breeding season, and the skin around their bill and on their throat turns bright yellow. Cormorant feathers are unique compared to other diving birds in that they are not naturally waterproof. As a result, they spend a great deal of time spreading oil from a gland at the base of their tail over their feathers to help keep themselves dry and warm.