Shags and Cormorants of New Zealand

A guide to the shag species (also known as cormorants) found in New Zealand. One third of the cormorant species known worldwide, are found in New Zealand..

Auckland Islands Shag ¹
Phalacrocorax colensoi

Black Shag ²
Phalacrocorax carbo novaehollandiae

Blue (Spotted) Shag ³
Phalacrocorax punctatus oliveri

Bounty Islands Shag ³
Phalacrocorax ranfurlyi

Campbell Islands Shag ³
Phalacrocorax campbelli

Chatham Islands Shag ⁴
Phalacrocorax onslowi

Little Black Shag ⁵
Phalacrocorax sulcirostris

Little Shag ⁶
Microcarbo melanoleucos brevirostris

New Zealand Pied Shag ⁷
Phalacrocorax varius varius

Parekareka (Spotted Shag) ⁸
Phalacrocorax punctatus punctatus

Pitt Island Shag ⁹
Phalacrocorax featherstoni

King Shag ¹⁰
Phalacrocorax carunculatus

Stewart Island (Bronze) Shag ¹¹
Phalacrocorax chalconotus

Edited by Tony Wills, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

Photo Credits

1. (c) Greg Lasley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Tony Wills
2. (c) Brenda Anderson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Tony Wills
4. John van Voorst (1873), no known copyright restrictions (public domain), uploaded by Tony Wills
5. (c) Andrew Mercer, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
6. (c) Benjamint444, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Tony Wills
7. (c) Sid Mosdell, some rights reserved (CC BY)
8. (c) Dan and Sharon, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Tony Wills
9. J. G. Keulemans, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), uploaded by Tony Wills
10. John Gerrard Keulemans (1842–1912), no known copyright restrictions (public domain), uploaded by Tony Wills
11. (c) Jim Scarff, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tony Wills

Shags and Cormorants of New Zealand

Auckland Islands Shag 1 Phalacrocorax colensoi

Black Shag 2 Phalacrocorax carbo novaehollandiae

Blue (Spotted) Shag 3 Phalacrocorax punctatus oliveri

Bounty Islands Shag 3 Phalacrocorax ranfurlyi

Campbell Islands Shag 3 Phalacrocorax campbelli

Chatham Islands Shag 4 Phalacrocorax onslowi

Little Black Shag 5 Phalacrocorax sulcirostris

Little Shag 6 Microcarbo melanoleucos brevirostris

New Zealand Pied Shag 7 Phalacrocorax varius varius

Parekareka (Spotted Shag) 8 Phalacrocorax punctatus punctatus

Pitt Island Shag 9 Phalacrocorax featherstoni

King Shag 10 Phalacrocorax carunculatus

Stewart Island (Bronze) Shag 11 Phalacrocorax chalconotus