A cormorant is a large, dark-colored water bird with a long neck, hooked bill, and webbed feet. Cormorants are expert fishers who dive underwater to chase down fish, using their powerful legs to propel themselves through the water like feathered torpedoes. Unlike ducks, their feathers aren't waterproof, so after fishing, you'll often see them perched on rocks or docks with their wings spread wide, drying off in the sun like laundry on a line.

These birds appear in stories and legends around the world. In some Asian countries, fishermen traditionally trained cormorants to catch fish for them, fitting the birds with special collars that prevented them from swallowing the largest fish. The birds would dive, catch the fish, and return to the boat, where the fisherman would reward them with smaller fish to eat.

In literature, cormorant sometimes appears as an adjective meaning greedy or ravenous, comparing someone's appetite to these birds' constant need to fish and eat.