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4

Imperial Shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps) Alternate name(s): "Imperial Cormorant", "Macquarie Shag", "Blue-eyed Shag", "Blue-eyed Cormorant" Size: 72-76 cm; wing span ca. 1.1 m Weight: 2.5-3.5 kg

Australia: Family Group 4 Family Group 4 Table Australian Pelican Red-tailed Tropicbird White-tailed Tropicbird Great Frigatebird Lesser Frigatebird Australasian Gannet Masked Booby Red-footed Booby Brown Booby Darter Great Cormorant Little Black Cormorant Little Pied Cormorant Pied Cormorant Black-faced Cormorant Imperial Shag Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Imperial Shags are small, black-and-white cormorants. Their front is white, the back is black, the wings are glossy black. They are the only Australian cormorant with a white upperwing stripe. Legs, feet and bill are dark-grey. They have striking blue eyes and yellow carunculation at the base of the bill and between the eyes.

Taxonomy, classification See Macquarie Shag at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information The Macquarie Shag, here listed as race "purpurascens" of the Imperial Shag, Phalacrocorax atriceps, is treated by many as a separate species, "Phalacrocorax purpurascens".

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Imperial Shag, race "purpurascens", which is often also called the "Macquarie Shag", is available HERE . Imperial Shags, race "purpurascens", are endemic to the Macquarie Group in the Southern Ocean, near halfway between the Australian continent and Antarctica. They are mostly found on Macquarie and nearby Heard Islands and the sea around them, but occasionally also on the nearby smaller islands. Imperial Shags are mostly found on coastal waters and rocky shores of these offshore islands. Where to look? How to find this species? It is important for all birds spending a lot of time under water, such as cormorants and darters, to dry and seal their plumage. They will often be seen on perches near the water's edge, such as rocks, dead branches, poles or lampposts, drying their plumage with extended wings.

Sightings Click here for sighting information B. Hensen reports spotting Imperial Shags, race "purpurascens", (Macquarie Shags) on Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean, in December 1993. M. Mearns spotted Imperial Shags, race "purpurascens", (Macquarie Shags) in Antarctica in January 2005.

Photos

Race "purpurascens"

This race is also called "Macquarie Shag".

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Portrait of a Macquarie Shag in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean, December 1993]

Lateral view of two Macquarie Shags in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Sep - Jan

Eggs: 2 - 3

Incubation period: ca. 28 days

Fledging age: ca. 35 days

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Bowl

Material: Mud, guano, plants

Height above ground: N/A

Colony of nesting Macquarie Shags (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean, December 1993]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: ?

Colour: Pale blue

Shape: ?

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sun, 24 February 2019, 20:52 +00:00