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 |
| Binomial name | |
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Leucocarbo carunculatus Gmelin, 1789 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Phalacrocorax carunculatus |
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Phalacrocorax carunculatus
The New Zealand king shag (Leucocarbo carunculatus), also known as the rough-faced shag or king shag, 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.
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. They can be seen from the Cook Strait ferries in Queen Charlotte Sound opposite the beginning of the Tory Channel.
New Zealand king shags live in the coastal waters of the Marlborough Sounds where they are known to breed only on rocky islets at four small sites.
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Wikipedia