New Zealand Pied Shag

Phalacrocorax varius varius

Description 6

Adults: They are basically black above and white below: Black from the top of the head, down the back of the neck, across the back and wings and down to the tail. Contrasting with a white face, throat and sides of the neck, chest and belly. They have black feet and legs, a grey beak with pinkish skin at its base. The eyes are green with a blue eye ring and in front of the eye the skin is yellow.
When in breeding condition those skin colours are very bright, but are less obvious at other times.
Juveniles: They are a toned down version with brown instead of black and mottled white intead of pure white. They have pale versions of the adults skin colours around the face and eyes.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Sid Mosdell, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/sidm/7714519926/
  2. (c) Sid Mosdell, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phalacrocorax_varius_-Queen_Charlotte_Sound,_Marlborough,_New_Zealand-8.jpg
  3. (c) QFSE Media, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cormorant-0141.jpg
  4. (c) DickDaniels, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pied_Cormorant_RWD1.jpg
  5. (c) Tony Wills, all rights reserved, uploaded by Tony Wills
  6. (c) Tony Wills, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

iNaturalist NZ Map

Beak grey
Feet black