Chatham shag

The Chatham Islands shag (Leucocarbo onslowi), also known as the Chatham shag, is a species of bird in the cormorant and shag family, Phalacrocoracidae. It is endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand. For a long time the species was placed in the genus Phalacrocorax; today it is mostly placed with the other blue-eyed shags of New Zealand and Antarctica in the genus Leucocarbo. Its closest relative is the Otago shag of South Island.

This is a large, pied shag with a long crest. It is highly coastal, rarely foraging far from shore, although sometimes feeds in the large and brackish Te Whanga Lagoon. It forages for fish and cephalopods and roosts on rocky shores. The species is colonial, breeding in small colonies around the Chatham Islands. Little is known about its breeding behaviour. The species is threatened by introduced predators, disturbance at its breeding colonies and habitat loss.

An adult Chatham Islands shag is 63 cm (25 in) in length and weighs around 1,790–2,400 g (63–85 oz). It is a large pied shag with a white throat, breast, belly and patches on the scapulars of the wings, and black or black-brown elsewhere. When breeding the head and hind-neck have a blue metallic sheen, the wings and mantle have a greenish sheen and the rest of the black areas have a purplish-blue sheen. The head has a prominent crest and there are white filoplumes on the neck. Adults have a red gular sac and orange-red caruncles on the face and the gape of the mouth. In spite of the common name of the genus the iris of the eye is brown, and the eye has a violet eye-ring. The bill is dark grey, with a bright red mouth, and the legs and feet are dull pink. Non-breeding birds look similar to breeding birds but are duller, have no crest or filoplumes, and duller bare parts. The caruncles are yellow, the eye-ring blue, the mouth orange and the bill is light-grey.