Greetings - 
Upon much further inspection of photos and references and word from fellow birders, it turns out that the "very possible" juvenile Neotropical Cormorant in Cuyahoga is indeed a hatch-year juvenile Double-crested Cormorant. This individual JUST fledged. The reason this bird was astoundingly tricky for all is that most Double-cresteds come out of the nest with orange lores and pale heads/necks/upper breasts (like we see on the thousands of birds along the lake), but this individual retained exceedingly-dark Neotropical-like plumage. While the lores of this bird are dark, they are not feathered, rather being flesh and very dark brownish-gray, the bill is too thick for Double-crested juvenile, and the mantle/covert feathers are rounded and not pointed, the latter being a mark for Neotropical. Size of this bird is intermediate, because it is so young. The tail does appear long, but proportions are thrown off because of how young this bird is. The overall slender shape, small head, sleek neck and body of the bird, which very closely resembled Neotropical Cormorant, is still too large and fits an exceedingly young Double-crested. Interestingly enough, the fact that this bird, out of the nest, retained dark lores and wholesomely dark plumage, is rare in of itself. There are very few articles on the subject and I was referenced to a specific recent case in the South where confusion was caused by another Double-crested juvenile retaining dark plumage and small size. Very intriguing. 
Best of birding - JB

Jen [log in to unmask]
Cleveland, Ohio
330-701-6452

Bird Illustrator / www.jenbrumfield.com

Birding Tour Guide (Ohio), Local Patch Birding / www.jenbrumfield.com
Birding Tour Guide (worldwide), Tropical Birding / www.tropicalbirding.com
Naturalist/Artist, Cleveland Metroparks / www.clemetparks.com
LEICA Birding Optics Prostaff / http://en.leica-camera.com/sport_optics/NorthNW Lake Erie blog / www.northnw.wordpress.com



                                          
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