New Zealand king shag
New Zealand king shag | |
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New Zealand king shags | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Suliformes |
Family: | Phalacrocoracidae |
Genus: | Leucocarbo |
Species: | L. carunculatus
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Binomial name | |
Leucocarbo carunculatus Gmelin, 1789
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Synonyms | |
Phalacrocorax carunculatus |
The New Zealand king shag (Leucocarbo carunculatus), also known as the rough-faced shag, king shag or kawau, is a rare bird endemic to New Zealand. Some taxonomic authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union, place this species in the genus Leucocarbo. Others place it in the genus Phalacrocorax.
Description[]
![Image of Male New Zealand king shag from the collection of Auckland Museum](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Leucocarbo_carunculatus_%28AM_LB4266%29.jpg/220px-Leucocarbo_carunculatus_%28AM_LB4266%29.jpg)
It is a large (76 cm long, 2.5 kg in weight) black and white cormorant with pink feet. White patches on the wings appear as bars when the wings are folded. Yellow-orange swellings (caruncles) are found above the base of the bill. The grey gular pouch is reddish in the breeding season. A blue eye-ring indicates its kinship with the other blue-eyed shags.[2]
Habitat[]
New Zealand king shags can be seen from the Cook Strait ferries in Queen Charlotte Sound opposite the beginning of the Tory Channel. They live in the coastal waters of the Marlborough Sounds where they are known to breed only on rocky islets at four small sites.[3]
References[]
- ^ BirdLife International (2018). "Leucocarbo carunculatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22696846A133555760. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22696846A133555760.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Schuckard, R. (2017). "New Zealand king shag". nzbirdsonline.org.nz. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
- ^ "Species factsheet: Leucocarbo carunculatus". www.birdlife.org. BirdLife International. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
External links[]
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- IUCN Red List vulnerable species
- Leucocarbo
- Endemic birds of New Zealand
- Vulnerable fauna of Oceania
- Marlborough Sounds
- Birds described in 1789
- Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin