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The White-breasted Cormorant was formerly a subspecies of the Great Cormorant (P. carbo), and some authors still consider it as a subspecies.Cormorants are more correctly known as waterbirds than seabirds, because they are rarely seen out to sea. They frequent mainly the shorelines of a variety of marine, brackish and fresh water.The white-breasted cormorant is the only form of great cormorant found in Sub-Saharan Africa, the only form that has strictly freshwater populations and the only form with a white breast and throat; it does however interbreed freely with dark-breasted forms in central Africa.

The White-breasted Cormorant differs from P. carbo by the white underparts contrasting strongly with the dark upperparts. It is largely sedentary in its African range. The White-breasted Cormorant feeds on fish, crustaceans and occasionally molluscs. It swims and dives to a depth of about ten metres. It pursues the prey by swimming underwater, grabs it in the bill and usually swallows it immediately depending on the size. The larger preys are brought back to the shore to be eaten. Other preys such as crustaceans, amphibians and molluscs are snapped up rapidly.

The White-breasted Cormorant is often seen perched erect in open, often on exposed perches. It is both solitary and gregarious according to the season.

It usually breeds in mixed-species colonies and often returns at sites and nests of the previous years. The male selects and defends the nest-site and later, it tries to attract females. Courtship displays include wing-waving motion, in order to expose the white thigh patches, showing and hiding them as the wings are moving.

Source : wikipedia / www.oiseaux-birds.com