The Cormorant Connection
Biological Inspiration for the PACE Pattern
The PACE Pattern is directly inspired by the foraging behavior of cormorants — diving waterbirds known for their efficient, adaptive, and purposeful hunting strategies.
"The bird doesn't browse the pond hoping to bump into fish. It dives with intent, adjusts to conditions, and surfaces with exactly what it needs."
Why Cormorants?
The PACE Pattern was conceived at Mill Pond Park in Richmond Hill, Ontario — a local pond where cormorants can be observed fishing.
Watching these birds hunt sparked a realization:
Users don't want to browse. They want a guide that dives, finds what they need, and surfaces with the answer.
Cormorant Behaviors → PACE Principles
1. Diving Foraging → Proactive
Cormorants are pursuit divers. They don't wait for fish to come to them — they actively dive and chase prey underwater.
| Cormorant | PACE Guide |
|---|---|
| Dives into water | Dives into user intent |
| Pursues fish actively | Pursues understanding actively |
| Doesn't wait for prey | Doesn't wait for user to browse |
Research:
"Cormorants possess efficient diving for prey... Their behavioral characteristics can be directly mapped to search strategy."
— Cormorant Hunting Intelligence Algorithm, ResearchGate 2025
2. Visual Hunting → Adaptive
Cormorants hunt primarily by sight. They locate prey visually and use their sharp, hooked bills to grasp fish precisely.
| Cormorant | PACE Guide |
|---|---|
| Hunts by sight | Understands by conversation |
| Sharp bill grasps prey | Clear response grasps intent |
| Adapts to light conditions | Adapts to user clarity |
Research:
"Cormorant foraging is visually-guided... dives are shallower at the beginning and end of each day when light levels are lower."
— Behavioural strategies of cormorants foraging under challenging light conditions, ResearchGate 2008
3. Strategy Switching → Contextual
Cormorants are generalist feeders. They switch between different hunting strategies depending on prey type (pelagic vs. benthic, motile vs. sedentary).
| Cormorant | PACE Guide |
|---|---|
| Pelagic prey → pursuit strategy | Specific intent → direct recommendation |
| Benthic prey → search strategy | Vague intent → exploratory guidance |
| Adjusts to prey type | Adjusts to user type |
Research:
"A generalist diver may switch between different foraging strategies, and each of them may be optimal under particular ecological conditions."
— Prey ecology and behaviour affect foraging strategies in the Great Cormorant, Marine Biology 2010
4. Energy Management → Efficient
Cormorants manage energy carefully — resting between hunts, basking in the sun to dry wings, and optimizing dive duration.
| Cormorant | PACE Guide |
|---|---|
| Rests between hunts | Waits for user input |
| Short, efficient dives | Short, efficient responses |
| Conserves energy | Conserves user attention |
| 18% foraging, 57% resting | Brief answers, space for questions |
Research:
"Spends only a small proportion of day actively foraging and much time at diurnal loafing sites... spent 57% of daylight hours loafing, 18% actively foraging."
— Birds of the World: Double-crested Cormorant Behavior
5. Group Collaboration → Guide + User Partnership
Cormorants sometimes hunt collaboratively, herding fish into shallow water where they're easier to catch.
| Cormorant | PACE Guide |
|---|---|
| Group herding | Guide + user dialogue |
| Forces fish to shallower water | Surfaces relevant options |
| Collaborative capture | Collaborative decision |
Research:
"Sometimes they hunt as a group, beating their wings on the surface to force schools of fish into shallower water where they make easier prey."
— Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Neotropic Cormorant
6. Foraging Range → Domain Boundaries
Cormorants travel to where the fish are, but optimize for efficiency — not traveling farther than necessary.
| Cormorant | PACE Guide |
|---|---|
| Defined foraging range | Defined knowledge domain |
| Doesn't overextend | Doesn't hallucinate |
| Returns to colony | Returns to catalog |
PACE as a Hunting Algorithm
The cormorant's hunting strategy maps directly to the PACE acronym:
P — Pursue
The cormorant doesn't wait. It dives toward prey with purpose.
The Guide pursues user intent actively through conversation.
A — Adapt
The cormorant switches strategies based on prey type and conditions.
The Guide adapts its approach based on user signals and context.
C — Capture
The cormorant's sharp bill grasps prey precisely.
The Guide captures user needs and delivers targeted recommendations.
E — Efficient
The cormorant manages energy — short dives, rest periods, no waste.
The Guide is concise, respects user attention, and optimizes for outcome.
The Cormorant Hunting Intelligence Algorithm
Researchers have formalized cormorant behavior into an optimization algorithm called the Cormorant Hunting Intelligence (CHI) algorithm.
Key behaviors modeled:
- Diving foraging — exploration of solution space
- Group collaboration — information sharing between agents
- Energy management — balancing exploration vs. exploitation
- Random perturbations — avoiding local optima
From the research:
"The Cormorant Hunting Intelligence (CHI) algorithm proposed in this paper is a novel heuristic optimization method based on biological behavior. The algorithm leverages the unique behaviors of cormorants, such as diving foraging, group collaboration, energy management, and random perturbations."
— Cormorant Hunting Intelligence Algorithm, ResearchGate 2025
The Full Circle
Everything connects:
| Element | Connection |
|---|---|
| Mill Pond | Where cormorants live — the storefront name |
| Cormorant | The guide persona — named after the bird |
| PACE | Pattern for Agentic Conversational Experience — how the guide behaves |
| Foraging | The biological inspiration — dive, adapt, capture, efficient |
| "What are you fishing for?" | The greeting — the hunt begins |
The pattern isn't just named after a bird. It embodies how the bird hunts.
Summary: The Cormorant Way
| Cormorant Behavior | PACE Pattern Principle |
|---|---|
| Diving foraging | Guide actively pursues intent |
| Visual hunting | Guide "sees" through conversation |
| Adaptive strategy | Guide adjusts to user type |
| Energy management | Guide is concise and efficient |
| Group collaboration | Guide and user work together |
| Foraging range | Guide stays within knowledge domain |
References
Cormorant Hunting Intelligence Algorithm: A Bio-inspired Optimization Approach Based on Cormorant Foraging Behavior ResearchGate, September 2025
When cormorants go fishing: the differing costs of hunting for sedentary and motile prey PMC / Biology Letters
Prey ecology and behaviour affect foraging strategies in the Great Cormorant Marine Biology, July 2010
Behavioural strategies of cormorants foraging under challenging light conditions ResearchGate, August 2008
Neotropic Cormorant Life History Cornell Lab of Ornithology - All About Birds
What is the behavior of a cormorant? Institute for Environmental Research and Education
Double-crested Cormorant Behavior Birds of the World
See Also
- PACE Principles — Proactive, Adaptive, Contextual, Efficient
- Origin Story — How PACE was created
- Pattern Overview — Complete pattern documentation
- MillPond Example — See the cormorant in action
"Welcome to the pond. What are you fishing for?" 🐦