Length of body: 37–43 cm. Wingspan: 85–97 cm.
Plumage is white on the lower side and ash-grey on the topside. Tips of the wings are darker. The head and the neck are black with a characteristic mane.
Feeds with fish. Lives in a salted and brackish lakes, salterns and the seacoast. Nests on the ground in colonies.
In Bulgaria it breeds in Atanasovsko and Pomorie lakes, but it could be observed in other Black Sea areas as well. Winters in Southern Europe and Africa.
Threats are construction development of the coastal areas and water bodies, disturbances during the breeding.
Conservation status in Bulgaria: threatened.
The artificial island could potentially increase the national breeding population by 5-10% with some 100 plus pairs potentially occupying the island.
