Common Name: Flightless Cormorant
Scientific Name: Nannopterum harrisi

Distribution: Only found along the coast of Fernadina Island and the northern part of Isabela island in the Galapagos

Biology: The world’s largest species of cormorant, the Flightless is also the only cormorant that has, as its name suggests, lost the ability to fly, its small stunted wings only being useful for surface maneuvers while swimming.
This inability to fly is due to the environment where the species has evolved; one where the absence of land predators and easy access to plentiful hunting-grounds made the use for flying redundant. And since flight is actually one of the most energy-demanding forms of locomotion, the cormorants probably lost the ability as soon as they arrived in the Galápagos, and taking to the air no longer was a necessity for flourishing anymore. They are benthic predators, diving and searching the rocky seafloor for fish and cephalopods.
Due to the rich waters the species is known to breed year round. Their large nests are made up of seaweed and are placed close to the sea, just out of reach of the waves.

IUCN Conservation Status: Vulnerable
The Flightless Cormorant has a very small range, and its population is know to fluctuate greatly being very susceptible to El Niño events (warming of the sea), which may increase in frequency and intensity.
Accidental introduction of alien predators like rats and cats to their breeding range could prove catastrophic, due to the cormorants inability to fly and ground nesting.
Fortunately the entire population is found within the Galápagos National Park, and thus the protection and management of the species and habitat is stable.