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4

Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo [Phalacrocorax] melanoleucos) Alternate name(s): "Frilled Shag", "Little Black-and-white Shag", "Little Black-and-white Cormorant" Aboriginal name(s): Race "melanoleucos": "tiRipilikurrk" [tjapwurrung]; "kokoko" (WA) Size: 58-64 cm; wing span 84-92 cm Weight: 490-830 g

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 Little Pied Cormorants are small, black-and-white cormorants. Their front is white, the back is black, the wings are scalloped dark-brown to black. Legs and feet are dark-grey, the bill is yellow. The white plumage of the face continues along the forehead, separating bill and cap. Juvenile Little Pied Cormorants have black feathers around their eyes, where adult birds are white.

Taxonomy, classification See Little Pied Cormorant at Wikipedia .

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 Little Pied Cormorant is available HERE . Little Pied Cormorants inhabit large parts of the Australian continent, New Zealand, parts of New Guinea and eastern Indonesia and up to the southern Philippines. The range of Little Pied Cormorants, race "melanoleucos", encompasses basically the entire coastal fringe around Australia, including Tasmania, and the northern tropics, plus the eastern half of the continent. This includes the Torres and Bass Straits. They are only occasionally, after significant rainfall, also found in the sandy deserts of WA, the central and south-western NT and western SA. Little Pied Cormorants can be found in basically any type of aquatic habitat, from a small farm dam to open waters (both fresh and saline). 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 Race "melanoleucos" We first spotted Little Pied Cormorants, race "melanoleucos", at Dangars Lagoon, near Uralla, NSW, in 2006. Since then we have found them to be wide-spread and common, both inland, along the Great Dividing Range and also along the eastern coastline of NSW and QLD. I. Duncan reports spotting Little Pied Cormorants, race "melanoleucos", at Glen Iris wetlands, Melbourne, VIC, in February 2013. J. Greaves reports spotting Little Pied Cormorants, race "melanoleucos", at Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, in December 2014, and in Manjimup, WA, in March 2015 and at Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, SA, in March 2016. P. Brown found a Little Pied Cormorant, race "melanoleucos", basking in the sun at Pine Creek, NT, in December 2017. A. Ross-Taylor reports finding a Little Pied Cormorant, race "melanoleucos", in Darwin, NT, in July 2020. M. Eaton found a Little Pied Cormorant, race "melanoleucos", at Goulds Lagoon, Hobart, TAS, in April 2021. C. Pears reports that Little Pied Cormorants, race "melanoleucos", are found at Quindalup, WA, on a daily basis. They are also found in Perth, WA, e.g. at Lake Herdsman. In December 2022 we found Little Pied Cormorants, race "melanoleucos", nesting at Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW. Twitcher's tip Little Pied Cormorants are visibly smaller than their larger cousins, i.e. Pied Cormorants, which measure a metre or more and have differently shaped bills.

Photos

Race "melanoleucos"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Close-up frontal view of a Little Pied Cormorant (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Frontal view of a Little Pied Cormorant with wet plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lamington NP, QLD, February 2018]

Frontal view of a Little Pied Cormorant drying its plumage (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, November 2022]

Frontal view of a Little Pied Cormorant that appeared to be burping (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, August 2015]

Close-up near-frontal view of a Little Pied Cormorant (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Goulds Lagoon, Hobart, TAS, April 2021]

Near-frontal view of a Little Pied Cormorant drying its plumage
[Narrabri, NSW, August 2012]

Near-frontal view of a Little Pied Cormorant drying its wet plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lamington NP, QLD, February 2018]

Close-up near-lateral portrait of a Little Pied Cormorant (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, April 2014]

Near-lateral view of a Little Pied Cormorant (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Eungella NP, near Mackay, QLD, July 2021]

Near-lateral view of a Little Pied Cormorant
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, June 2009]

Near-lateral view of a Little Pied Cormorant (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Pine Creek, NT, December 2017]

Lateral view of a Little Pied Cormorant (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Pine Creek, NT, December 2017]

Lateral view of a fluffed-up Little Pied Cormorant after preening (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, October 2022]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a Little Pied Cormorant with a fashionable "Cherokee" haircut (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, October 2023]

Near-dorsal view of a Little Pied Cormorant (photo courtesy of M. Windeyer)
[Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo, NSW, February 2012]

Near-dorsal view of a Little Pied Cormorant
[Iluka Bluff, Bundjalung NP, NSW, May 2014]

Dorsal view of a Little Pied Cormorant
[Manilla, NSW, July 2010]

Dorsal view of a Little Pied Cormorant drying its plumage (photo courtesy of I. Duncan)
[Glen Iris wetlands, Melbourne, February 2013]

Comparison between a Little Pied Cormorant and a Pied Cormorant in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Quindalup, WA, May 2021]

Oh, sh...! Little Pied Cormorant caught in a somewhat compromising position (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)

Lateral view of a Little Pied Cormorant in flight
[Pilliga NP, NSW, May 2021]

Lateral view of two Little Pied Cormorants in flight, wings up and down, respectively
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2023]

Direct comparison between - left to right - a male Australasian Darter, a Little Black Cormorant, a Great Cormorant, and a Little Pied Cormorant
[New Quipolly Dam, near Quirindi, NSW, November 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a very dirty-looking juvenile Little Pied Cormorant (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Chinaman Creek, NT, November 2018]

Frontal view of an adult Little Pied Cormorant (right) and a juvenile bird (left); note that the juvenile bird (identifiable by the black patch around its eye) is bigger than the adult
[Near Wee Waa, NSW, September 2012]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Little Pied Cormorant
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2010]

The same Little Pied Cormorant as shown above, now seen preening
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2010]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a juvenile Little Pied Cormorant drying its wings
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, February 2009]

Lateral view of a juvenile Little Pied Cormorant (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Palmerston Golf Course, Palmerston, NT, December 2019]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Dec

Eggs: 3 - 5

Incubation period: 27 - 28 days

Fledging age: 56 - 70 days

 

The breeding season depends significantly on geographical latitude. In the tropical north Little Pied Cormorants breed Jan - Apr. Given the right conditions, they can breed any time of the year. They breed in colonies, together with other aquatic birds.

Little Pied Cormorant feeding one of its chicks that have already left the nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, March 2018]

Nest

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

Type: Basket

Material: Sticks, bark, lined with leaves

Height above ground: 3 - 20 m

 

Little Pied Cormorant chicks in their nest, waiting to be fed (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Black Duck Reserve, Murrumba Downs, near Brisbane, QLD, September 2017]

Little Pied Cormorant feeding one of two chicks in the nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Black Duck Reserve, Murrumba Downs, near Brisbane, QLD, September 2017]

Little Pied Cormorant chicks in their nest
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, December 2022]

Little Pied Cormorant on its nest
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, December 2022]

Colony of Little Pied Cormorants nesting in a dead tree in a major storage dam; also seen in the lower left corner are two nesting pairs of Little Black Cormorants
[Split Rock Dam, near Manilla, NSW, August 2008]

Little Pied Cormorant on its nest (photo courtesy of D. Albertson, LTIM Gwydir Wetlands)
[Gwydir Wetlands, 50 km West of Moree, NSW, February 2015]

"Change of the guard" at a Little Pied Cormorant nest (photo courtesy of D. Albertson, LTIM Gwydir Wetlands)
[Gwydir Wetlands, 50 km West of Moree, NSW, February 2015]

A few days after the photos above were taken, first one tiny head appeared below the adult Little Pied Cormorant... (photo courtesy of D. Albertson, LTIM Gwydir Wetlands)
[Gwydir Wetlands, 50 km West of Moree, NSW, February 2015]

... then two tiny Little Pied Cormorants peeked over the edge of the nest (photo courtesy of D. Albertson, LTIM Gwydir Wetlands)
[Gwydir Wetlands, 50 km West of Moree, NSW, February 2015]

Clear view of at least two Little Pied Cormorant chicks; while the chicks are young and vulnerable one parent will always stay in the nest to protect them against heat/sunlight and predators (photo courtesy of D. Albertson, LTIM Gwydir Wetlands)
[Gwydir Wetlands, 50 km West of Moree, NSW, March 2015]

Later only one chick was left in the nest (photo courtesy of D. Albertson, LTIM Gwydir Wetlands)
[Gwydir Wetlands, 50 km West of Moree, NSW, March 2015]

One last feed at the nest, then it fledged too (photo courtesy of D. Albertson, LTIM Gwydir Wetlands)
[Gwydir Wetlands, 50 km West of Moree, NSW, March 2015]

Example of Little Pied Cormorants nesting in a loose colony with other species, in this case Australasian Darters (photo courtesy of D. Albertson, LTIM Gwydir Wetlands)
[Gwydir Wetlands, 50 km West of Moree, NSW, February 2015]

Eggs

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

Size: 48 x 33 mm

Colour: Light blue, with chalky white coating

Shape: Tapered oval

Frontal view of a Little Pied Cormorant above two eggs in its nest (photo courtesy of D. Albertson, LTIM Gwydir Wetlands)
[Gwydir Wetlands, 50 km West of Moree, NSW, February 2015]

Lateral view of a Little Pied Cormorant above two eggs in its nest (photo courtesy of D. Albertson, LTIM Gwydir Wetlands)
[Gwydir Wetlands, 50 km West of Moree, NSW, February 2015]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Dispersive

Elementary unit: Flock

Little Pied Cormorants were seen by us diving and hunting in a pack, proceeding through shallow water in a bow-shaped configuration.

Even a water surface as small as the pool at the base of a (small) waterfall is enough for a bird to try its luck.

Little Pied Cormorant waiting for intruders to disappear...
[Near Maules Creek, NSW, October 2011]

... before going back to the important business of hunting
[Near Maules Creek, NSW, October 2011]

Little Pied Cormorant swimming out of reeds into the open water of a freshwater lake
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, April 2013]

Hunting under water, Little Pied Cormorants are one of the bird species that can regularly be seen drying their plumage sitting on a perch in bright sunlight.

Australasian Darters and Little Pied Cormorants drying their plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Road Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, September 2017]

Food, Diet

Like most other members of the Phalacrocorax family, Little Pied Cormorants feed partly on fish; however, as opposed to other species of cormorants, they specialise in catching crustaceans. If there is a chance of catching yabbies, Little Pied Cormorants will visit even small dams, including the one at our place at Eulah Creek, 20 km East of Narrabri, NSW.

Lateral view of a Little Pied Cormorant with its catch, a yabby
[Pilliga NP, NSW, June 20202]

This Little Pied Cormorant has caught itself a meal - the prey looks like the tail of a yabby
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, January 2011]

Lateral view of a Little Pied Cormorant with its next meal (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

We will try to replace this poor-quality recording as soon as possible.

ltpcorm_20150810.m4a

(E NSW)

Nestling being fed

© MD

More Little Pied Cormorant sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

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: Thu, 2 November 2023, 23:19 +00:00