Animalia Life

Phalacrocorax carunculatus
TAXONOMY
Pelecanus carunculatus Gmelin, 1789, Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand, and Staten Island. Monotypic.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Bronzed shag; rough-faced cormorant; rough-faced shag; French: Cormoran caronculй; German: Warzenscharbe; Spanish: Cormorбn Carunculado.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Body length of 30 in (76 cm), with a reddish yellow bill, white throat and belly, glossy blackish plumage on the back and wings, and pink legs and feet.
DISTRIBUTION
An endemic (or local) species that only breeds on a few islands in Cook Strait between North and South Islands of New Zealand.
HABITAT
Nests on cliff-ledges and feeds in nearby coastal waters.
BEHAVIOR
A social species that breeds in colonies and aggregates in small flocks.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds on small fish, squid, and crustaceans.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Lays one to three eggs in a crude nest, with both sexes sharing the incubation and rearing of the chick.
CONSERVATION STATUS
A rare species, listed as Vulnerable due to limited habitat.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Not of much direct importance to people, but sightings are sought after by naturalists, which brings some economic benefits through ecotourism.

Other popular Animals