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The White-breasted cormorant (Phalacrocorax lucidus) is a bird found in South Africa. Coasts, lakes and rivers across southern Africa. It eats fish, insects and other small invertebrates and reptiles and frogs. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the White-breasted cormorant lives

Coasts, lakes and rivers across southern Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐟 Fish80%
• 🐛 Insects & bugs10%
• 🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the White-breasted cormorant

Recorded by Oliver Fowler (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC774615. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the White-breasted cormorant

Where does the White-breasted cormorant live?

The White-breasted cormorant lives in South Africa. Coasts, lakes and rivers across southern Africa.

What does the White-breasted cormorant eat?

fish (about 80%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 10%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the White-breasted cormorant endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Africa

• African darter
• Namaqua dove
• Levaillant's cisticola
• Chinspot batis
• Swainson's spurfowl
• White-faced whistling duck

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.