A slender cormorant with a long neck and tail, often found on large freshwater wetlands in India.
It has a slender build, long neck and tail, an elongated oval head and a long, fine bill. Breeding adults are glossy black with greenish-blue eyes and white tufts on the ear-coverts. Non-breeding adults are browner, with a yellowish gular pouch and white throat.
The Indian Cormorant is a resident bird associated with wetlands in India. State of India's Birds 2023 estimated its national range at about 1.64 million square kilometres and classified that range as very large. The assessment used observations from across India and reported long-term change separately from the most recent annual trend.
The assessment classified the long-term trend as an increase and the current annual trend as inconclusive. Its long-term estimate was a 71.8% increase, with a reported confidence interval from 48.96% to 95.29%. These two time frames describe different parts of the national assessment of the species.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
State of India's Birds 2023 classified the Indian Cormorant's long-term trend as an increase and the current annual trend as inconclusive. The estimated long-term change was 71.8%, and its national range was about 1.64 million square kilometres.