How cormorant hate reveals human prejudice

TL;DR

The Economist reviews Gordon McMullan's book on the cormorant's vilification in culture.
Called "bird from Hell", "black death", "devil bird" and "fish terrorist", it is despised by fishermen and depicted ominously in literature.
Hatred stems from humans sorting animals into moral binaries of good and bad, revealing cultural greed and prejudice.

The story at a glance

The Economist profiles a new book by Gordon McMullan, professor of English at King’s College London, which traces the cormorant's bad reputation across history and culture. Fishermen loathe it as a fish thief, while poets and novelists portray it darkly. The review appears now to highlight the book's recent release by Cambridge University Press.

Key points

Cormorants bear nicknames like “bird from Hell”, “black death”, “devil bird” and “fish terrorist”.
Fishermen despise the bird for eating fish; literature captures it in ominous terms.
McMullan argues the cormorant is "caught up in the tendency of human culture to sort animals…into binary categories of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, imposing a moral perspective on nature".
The book is a "cultural history of greed and prejudice"—about the bird but mainly human flaws.
It draws on literature, art and zoology, spanning places from America to China, Britain to Peru.[[1]](https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/04/15/what-the-worlds-most-hated-avian-reveals-about-people)[[2]](https://www.amazon.com/Cormorant-Cultural-History-Greed-Prejudice/dp/1009652982)

Details and context

McMullan's book shows cormorants have been hated for centuries, with prejudice shifting over time—often tied to greed, like conflicts between fishing industries and environmentalists.[[3]](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cormorant/7F3CD955B2B24EE4A5A5E25DA121E1E3)

This moralising of nature mirrors human biases, including racism and xenophobia, as attitudes to the bird reflect broader domination patterns.[[3]](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cormorant/7F3CD955B2B24EE4A5A5E25DA121E1E3)

The cormorant stands out for its global infamy, unlike more neutral birds, making it a sharp lens for cultural history.

Key quotes

Gordon McMullan argues that the cormorant has been “caught up in the tendency of human culture to sort animals…into binary categories of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, imposing a moral perspective on nature”.[[1]](https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/04/15/what-the-worlds-most-hated-avian-reveals-about-people)

His book offers a perceptive “cultural history of greed and prejudice”—not just of a bird, but of human beings.[[1]](https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/04/15/what-the-worlds-most-hated-avian-reveals-about-people)

Why it matters

The cormorant's story exposes how people project moral judgments onto nature, fueling conflicts over wildlife and resources. Readers interested in culture or environment gain insight into hidden biases shaping views of animals and others. Watch for reactions to the book and any policy shifts in cormorant culls, though outcomes depend on science and politics.