New Zealand king shag

Phalacrocorax carunculatus

TAXONOMY

Pelecanus carunculatus Gmelin, 1789, Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand, and Staten Island. Monotypic.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Bronzed shag; rough-faced cormorant; rough-faced shag; French: Cormoran caronculé; German: Warzenscharbe; Spanish: Cormorán Carunculado.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Body length of 30 in (76 cm), with a reddish yellow bill, white throat and belly, glossy blackish plumage on the back and wings, and pink legs and feet.

DISTRIBUTION

An endemic (or local) species that only breeds on a few islands in Cook Strait between North and South Islands of New Zealand.

HABITAT

Nests on cliff-ledges and feeds in nearby coastal waters.

BEHAVIOR

A social species that breeds in colonies and aggregates in small flocks.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Feeds on small fish, squid, and crustaceans.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Lays one to three eggs in a crude nest, with both sexes sharing the incubation and rearing of the chick.

CONSERVATION STATUS

A rare species, listed as Vulnerable due to limited habitat.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Not of much direct importance to people, but sightings are sought after by naturalists, which brings some economic benefits through ecotourism.