Leucocarbo carunculatus
The New Zealand King Shag (Leucocarbo carunculatus), a large and striking marine bird endemic to New Zealand's Marlborough Sounds, is one of the world's rarest cormorant species. Measuring approximately 76 cm in length with a wingspan nearing 110 cm and weighing around 2.5-3 kg, adults exhibit a glossy black plumage on their head, neck, and back, starkly contrasting with pristine white underparts. A distinctive white patch adorns each wing, visible both at rest and in flight, while its most n...
This highly specialized marine bird exclusively inhabits the cool, nutrient-rich coastal waters and rugged, rocky islands of the Marlborough Sounds in the South Island of New Zealand, utilizing cliff faces and islets for breeding and roosting.
The King Shag's diet consists predominantly of bottom-dwelling fish species, particularly flatfish and small schooling fish, along with occasional crustaceans and cephalopods, all captured through expert pursuit diving.
New Zealand King Shags are diurnal foragers, spending their nights roosting communally on inaccessible cliff ledges or offshore stacks. Their primary foraging strategy involves pursuit diving, propelling themselves underwater using their powerful webbed feet to catch prey. They exhibit strong ter...
The New Zealand King Shag has an exceptionally restricted geographic distribution, being strictly endemic to the Marlborough Sounds, an intricate network of drowned valleys located at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island. Its entire breeding range encompasses only a handful of specific ...
Vulnerable
- The New Zealand King Shag is one of the world's rarest cormorant species, with a total population estimated to be under 1,000 individuals. - It is strictly endemic, found only within the confined waters of the Marlborough Sounds at the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island. - Its scientifi...