In the Northeast, if you don’t live on the coast or in one of a few inland locations where double-crested cormorants breed, you will probably only see these large birds as they pass through during migration. At first glance, they aren’t especially eye-catching: blackish brown, a bit gangly, often perched with wings stretched out to dry. Double-crested cormorants’ eyes, however, are a brilliant turquoise color, and during breeding season the birds develop the tufts of feathers – or crests – on their heads for which they are named. Should you see one of these birds in spring, watch for it to open its beak – the inside of a cormorant’s mouth is also bright turquoise at this time of year, although that coloring fades after breeding season.