Near-endemic to southern Africa, occurring along the coast of Angola, Namibia, and the west coast of South Africa; the Cape cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis) becomes increasingly scarce as you travel east up the South-African coastline. It generally prefers estuaries and coastal lagoons, roosting at areas with good protection from predators, such as islands in wetlands or open beaches with good visibility.
Mainly sedentary, although it often disperses after the breeding season.
It mainly eats fish, doing most of its foraging in large flocks 10-20 km offshore, although it rarely travels up to 80 km away from land. It catches prey by diving from the water surface and giving chase, often resting at sea between foraging bouts, unlike most other cormorants. This is because it is more buoyant and has denser foliage, which does not get waterlogged. Its jaw is adapted to handling small, fast-moving fish, so flocks often focus on large shoals of this type. The following food items have been recorded in its diet:
Near-threatened, as its population has decreased from 277 000 pairs in 1977-1981 to just 72 000 pairs in 1996. This may be part of a natural process, linked to the large natural variations in the population of Anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus). Human interference also has a negative effect, often causing nest desertion and subsequent predation of chicks and eggs.
Source: http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/birds/phalacracoridae/phalacrocorax_capensis.htm