Cormorant The Pelicanus bassanus, of the family Colymbidoe, order Natatores. Hebrew shalak, i.e. "the diver", from a root "to cast down" itself, or plunge after its prey. Unclean (Leviticus 11:17; Deuteronomy 14:17). Septuagint katarraktes, which Speaker's Commentary makes the "cormorant," Phalacrocorax crabo, often seen in Syria, and occasionally at the sea of Galilee; this the Appendix to Smith's Dict. contradicts. but for "cormorant" in Isaiah 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14, translated "pelican," Hebrew qa'ath.