Socotra Cormorant

While not a reef species, enormous nesting colonies of this globally Vulnerable seabird roost on the Hawar Islands and dive repeatedly through the water column at the reef edge, creating underwater spectacles as hundreds of birds torpedo past divers in pursuit of anchovies and sardines. They are endemic to the Arabian Gulf and Oman Sea and the Hawar colony is one of the world's largest, reflecting the productivity of the adjacent reef and seagrass ecosystem. Watching them hunt underwater is an experience unlike any standard reef dive.