Captured in Barpeta District, Assam, at Konara Xotro (Boglamari) village during a cold foggy winter morning around 6 am, the Little Cormorant (Pani Kauri in Assamese) revealed its beauty. Using a Nikon Z6II with a 200-500mm 5.6 Nikkor lens, I marveled at the soft diamond bokeh reflection in the cold, temperate backdrop. Despite the early alarm and reluctant venture due to the chilly weather, the sight of these birds made the morning worthwhile.

The Little Cormorant, smaller than the Indian Cormorant, lacks a peaked head and has a shorter beak. Widely distributed in the Indian Subcontinent, it forages alone or in loose groups in various freshwater bodies. The breeding season presents an entirely black body, while the non-breeding plumage is brownish with a small whitish throat patch. These gregarious birds breed in trees, often joining other waterbirds at heronries. Their habitat spans across India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, lowland Nepal, parts of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia, excluding the Himalayas. Vagrants have been observed in Ladakh, and they inhabit wetlands ranging from small ponds to large lakes.