[4][5] The species was first identified by Georg Wilhelm Steller in 1741 on Vitus Bering's disastrous second Kamchatka expedition.

[9][10] This species was largely glossy black in color with a reported greenish gloss that may have been fairly vivid in bright light.

The population declined quickly after further visitors to the area started collecting the birds for food and feathers.

Their reports of profitable whaling grounds and large populations of Arctic foxes and other animals with valuable pelts led to a massive influx of whalers and fur traders into the region; the last birds were reported to have lived around 1850 on Kamen Ariy (Russian: Камень Арий[12]) islet, off the northwestern tip of Bering Island.

A presumed prehistoric record from Amchitka Island, Alaska,[13] is based on misidentification of double-crested cormorant remains.