Socotra cormorants bathe at the earliest opportunity each time they leave the land, a routine that never varies. The bathing routine for individual birds varies only slightly and in general is started almost immediately a bird settles on the water. Initiated as if looking for fish by the ducking of the head on an extended neck under the water, the head and neck are jerked downwards in stabbing motion and the feet used to scratch at the feathers of the breast or the neck to assist with the removal of dirt or parasites.