The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Suliformes

Cape Cormorant Phalacrocorax capensis
Monotypic



Breeds along the southwest African coastlines of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.



Photo by @akasha in the wild, South Africa - adult bird.

full

Cape Cormorant - ZooChat



Photo by @AWP in the wild, South Africa - it is a little difficult to see but the birds in this photo are a mix of adults (black, with orange facial skin) and juveniles (browner plumage and much paler facial skin).

full

Cape Cormorants - ZooChat
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: AWP
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
Four subspecies: carbo, hanedae, novaehollandiae, sinensis

Two additional subspecies often recognised (e.g. in HBW) are lucidus and maroccanus. The former is variably treated as a subspecies of P. carbo or split as a full species. Here I have kept it as a separate species, in which case maroccanus is a subspecies of P. lucidus rather than P. carbo.

All four subspecies of P. carbo are represented in the Zoochat galleries.


P. c. carbo is found from the eastern seaboard of North America, through Greenland and Iceland, to the western coasts of Europe (also wintering to northern Africa).

P. c. hanedae is endemic to Japan but many authors consider it to be a synonym of sinensis.

P. c. novaehollandiae is found in Australia and New Zealand. Formerly the latter population was treated separately as P. c. steadi.

P. c. sinensis is found from central and southern Europe across Asia to India and China, and also wintering further south into Africa and southeast Asia.



Photo by @Richie Hell in the wild, UK - adult bird of the subspecies carbo in breeding plumage. Note the white filoplumes on the neck, the quantity of which is extremely variable between individuals, and the white thighs.

full

Great Cormorant - ZooChat


Photo by @NigeW of a presumed wild bird at Zoo de Lagos (Portugal) - non-breeding adult of the subspecies carbo.

full

Great Cormorant at Zoo de Lagos 7th August 2017 - ZooChat


Photo by @Terry Thomas in the wild, Japan - adult birds of the subspecies hanedae.

full

Great cormorants. - ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Japan - adult bird of the subspecies hanedae in breeding plumage.

full

Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia - adult bird of the subspecies novaehollandiae in breeding plumage. Note the scattered white filoplumes on the neck, the quantity of which is extremely variable between individuals.

full

Great Cormorant - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia - non-breeding adult of the subspecies novaehollandiae.

full

Great Cormorant - ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, New Zealand - adult bird of the subspecies novaehollandiae (of the New Zealand population formerly separated as P. c. steadi)

full

Black Shag (Phalacrocorax carbo) - ZooChat


Photo by @KevinB of a wild bird at Rotterdam Zoo (Netherlands) - adult bird of the subspecies sinensis (western range) in breeding plumage. Note the extreme development of white filoplumes on the neck, the quantity of which is extremely variable between individuals, and the white thighs.

full

Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) and Eurasian greater cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis), Nov 10th, 2018 - ZooChat


Photo by @MegalodonEric at Yantai Nanshan Park Zoo (China) - adult birds of the subspecies sinensis (eastern range) in breeding plumage. This photo illustrates particularly well the prominent white feathering which breeding birds grow on the thighs, and also the crest of breeding birds can be seen; conversely the white filoplumes on the neck are almost absent in these individuals.

full

Great Cormorant ,Phalacrocorax carbo - ZooChat


Photo by @Elephas Maximus at Rostov Zoo (Russia) - juvenile bird of the subspecies sinensis (western range).

full

Great cormorant - ZooChat
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
Monotypic



Patchily distributed from the Indian subcontinent to southeast Asia.



Photo by @robreintjes of a wild bird at the Saigon Zoo (Vietnam) - I think this must be an adult in partial breeding plumage, but it still lacks the white ear-tufts which the species attains when breeding.

full

Indian cormorant - ZooChat


Photo by @Terry Thomas in the wild, Sri Lanka - adult in breeding plumage. Note the white ear-tufts.

full

Indian cormorant - ZooChat
 
Last edited:
White-breasted Cormorant Phalacrocorax lucidus
Two subspecies: maroccanus and lucidus

Variably treated as being either a full species (as I have used here) or a subspecies of the Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo.


Only the nominate subspecies lucidus is represented in the Zoochat galleries.


P. c. maroccanus is found in coastal regions of northwestern Africa.

P. c. lucidus is found throughout most of subsaharan Africa (inland and coastal).



Photo by @geomorph at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) - bird of the subspecies lucidus in breeding plumage. Note the black gular pouch.

full

White-breasted Cormorant - ZooChat


Photo by @geomorph at San Diego Zoo (USA) - birds of the subspecies lucidus in breeding plumage, showing how the sexes are monomorphic.

full

Panda Canyon - Waterfowl Lagoon 1 - White-breasted Cormorant - ZooChat


Photo by @Maguari at Spaycific'Zoo (France) - non-breeding bird of the subspecies lucidus.

full

White-breasted Cormorant at Spaycific'Zoo, 13/06/18 - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Uganda - juvenile bird of the subspecies lucidus.

full

Great Cormorant - ZooChat
 
Wahlberg's or Bank Cormorant Phalacrocorax neglectus
Monotypic



Breeds on the coastline of Namibia and western South Africa.



Photo by @Maguari at Living Coasts (UK) - adult bird (displaying) in breeding plumage. Note the white filoplumes scattered over the neck.

full

Bank Cormorant displaying at Living Coasts 10/04/09 - ZooChat


Photo by @gentle lemur at Living Coasts (UK) - adult bird. The eye colour in this species is unique amongst cormorants and can be used to roughly age birds: in juveniles the iris is dark brown, in subadults it is green, and in adults it is as shown in this photo - divided into pale brown in the upper part of the eye and blue-green in the lower.

full

Bank cormorant profile - ZooChat
 
Last edited:
Little Black Cormorant Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
Monotypic



Distributed from Java and Sulawesi eastwards through the Lesser Sundas and New Guinea to Australia and New Zealand.



Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia - adult bird in breeding plumage. Note the white filoplumes on the neck.

full

Little Black Cormorant - ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias at Featherdale Wildlife Park (Australia) - adult bird, showing the plumage of the back, and with breeding plumes on the head.

full

Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia - juvenile birds. Note the brownish plumage.

full

Little Black Cormorants - wild - ZooChat
 
Last edited:
Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax varius
Two subspecies: hypoleucos and varius

Both subspecies are represented in the Zoochat galleries.


P. v. hypoleucos is found in Australia.

P. v. varius is found in New Zealand.



Photo by @Hix at Cleland Wildlife Park (Australia) - adult birds of the subspecies hypoleucos in breeding plumage (only the colour of the soft parts change).

full
Pied Cormorant - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix at Cleland Wildlife Park (Australia) - close-up of adult bird of the subspecies hypoleucos showing the colours of the soft parts in breeding plumage.

full

Pied Cormorant portrait - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (Australia) - young adult of the subspecies hypoleucos; note the brownish plumage and the pale soft parts.

full

Pied Cormorant - ZooChat


Photo by @ZooGirl101 in the wild (at Zealandia), New Zealand - breeding bird of the subspecies varius. The only change from non-breeding to breeding is that the colours on the soft parts (on the face) become brighter.

full

Pied Shag with Chicks - ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, New Zealand - adult bird of the subspecies varius.

full

Pied shag (Phalacrocorax varius) - ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias at Wellington Zoo (New Zealand) - juvenile of the subspecies varius.

full

Pied Shag (Phalacrocorax varius) juvenile - ZooChat


Photo by @zooboy28 at Nga Manu Nature Reserve (New Zealand) - fledgling of the subspecies varius.

full

Pied Shag - Nga Manu - ZooChat
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: AWP
I have photos of three South African species of cormorants, including Cape (at least, I labelled it as such). I will upload it for this guide.
 
Poikilocarbo
One species


The single species in this genus, the Red-legged Cormorant P. gaimardi, is most commonly placed in the genus Phalacrocorax but has also been placed at times in Stictocarbo and Leucocarbo. The 2014 paper "Classification of the cormorants of the world" by Kennedy and Spencer (available online) found that this species was a sister lineage to all other cormorants and hence separated it into its own genus.



Red-legged Cormorant Poikilocarbo gaimardi
Monotypic, although the Atlantic population is sometimes separated as P. g. cirriger.



Distributed around the coastlines of South America: on the Pacific side from northern Peru all the way down to the bottom of Chile; and on the Atlantic side only in southern Argentina.



In my opinion the Red-legged Cormorant is the most attractive of all cormorant species, so it is unfortunate that the only photo I could find in the Zoochat galleries is a quite-distant shot of a bird from the back.

Photo by @Tomek at Weltvogelpark Walsrode (Germany) - the bird is in the centre of the photo; the other three birds are Guanay Cormorants Leucocarbo bougainvillii. This bird is listed on Zootierliste as a female, and is the only listing for any European zoo.

full

Red-legged Cormorant (Phalacrocorax gaimardi) June 2000 - ZooChat
 
Stictocarbo
Two species, both of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Pitt Island Shag Stictocarbo featherstoni
Spotted Shag Stictocarbo punctatus



The genus Stictocarbo was erected in 1855 for the Spotted Shag S. punctatus of New Zealand (the generic name means "spotted cormorant" and the specific name also means "spotted"). At times various other species have also been placed in Stictocarbo, including the Red-legged Cormorant Poikilocarbo gaimardi of South America and even the European Shag Gulosus aristotelis.


The HBW sinks Stictocarbo into Phalacrocorax, following the 2014 paper "Classification of the cormorants of the world" by Kennedy and Spencer (available online). In that study Stictocarbo is contained well within Phalacrocorax. I am keeping it separate in this thread solely because has been a widely-used genus which many people will be familiar with (i.e. the two New Zealand spotted shags have consistently been separated from other cormorant genera).
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
Spotted Shag Stictocarbo punctatus
Two subspecies generally recognised (oliveri and punctatus) but almost every source has the additional note that oliveri is probably invalid.

A 2019 paper by Rawlence et al ("Archival DNA reveals cryptic biodiversity within the Spotted Shag (Phalacrocorax punctatus) from New Zealand") found that there was no genetic difference between oliveri and the punctatus of the rest of the South Island and the lower North Island, but the population in the Hauraki Gulf at the top of the North Island (by Auckland) was genetically distinct.

All three of the above are represented in the Zoochat galleries.


S. p. oliveri is found down the west coast of New Zealand's South Island, in Foveaux Strait, and around Stewart Island. This form is known as the Blue Shag.

S. p. punctatus is found around the rest of New Zealand's coastline (the east and north coasts of the South Island, and around parts of the North Island).



Photo by @Terry Thomas in the wild, New Zealand - juvenile birds of the (probably invalid) subspecies oliveri.

full

Spotted Shags - ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias at Auckland Zoo (New Zealand) - this is a bird from the Hauraki Gulf population (currently still retained in subspecies punctatus), in breeding plumage. Note the bright plumage, the double crest, and the bright blue eye-ring.

full

Spotted Shag (Stictocarbo punctatus) - ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, New Zealand - adult bird of the subspecies punctatus in partial breeding plumage - note the less-developed double crest and the yellow (as opposed to blue) facial skin. This photo also shows the spotted plumage very well.

full

Spotted Shag (Stictocarbo punctatus) - ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, New Zealand - juvenile bird of the subspecies punctatus.

full

Juvenile Spotted Shag (Stictocarbo punctatus) in flight - ZooChat
 
Last edited:
Chlidonias said:
Poikilocarbo
One species


The single species in this genus, the Red-legged Cormorant P. gaimardi, is most commonly placed in the genus Phalacrocorax but has also been placed at times in Stictocarbo and Leucocarbo. The 2014 paper "Classification of the cormorants of the world" by Kennedy and Spencer (available online) found that this species was a sister lineage to all other cormorants and hence separated it into its own genus.



Red-legged Cormorant Poikilocarbo gaimardi
Monotypic, although the Atlantic population is sometimes separated as P. g. cirriger.



Distributed around the coastlines of South America: on the Pacific side from northern Peru all the way down to the bottom of Chile; and on the Atlantic side only in southern Argentina.



In my opinion the Red-legged Cormorant is the most attractive of all cormorant species, so it is unfortunate that the only photo I could find in the Zoochat galleries is a quite-distant shot of a bird from the back.

Photo by @Tomek at Weltvogelpark Walsrode (Germany) - the bird is in the centre of the photo; the other three birds are Guanay Cormorants Leucocarbo bougainvillii. This bird is listed on Zootierliste as a female, and is the only listing for any European zoo.

full

Red-legged Cormorant (Phalacrocorax gaimardi) June 2000 - ZooChat
Click to expand...
I wasn't aware of this species, but thank you for informing me. This is now my favorite Sulid species by far.
 
Urile
Four species (one of which is now extinct), of which two species are represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Pelagic or Baird's Cormorant Urile pelagicus
Brandt's Cormorant Urile penicillatus
Spectacled or Pallas' Cormorant Urile perspicillatus (extinct c. 1850, and not depicted here)
Red-faced Cormorant Urile urile (not depicted here)


This genus is composed of strictly-marine birds from the coasts of the north Pacific Ocean. Two species are found as far south as Baja California, but the general distribution is around the islands and coastlines of the far north.
 
Last edited:
Pelagic or Baird's Cormorant Urile pelagicus
Two subspecies: pelagicus and resplendens

Both subspecies are represented in the Zoochat galleries.


U. p. pelagicus is found along the coastlines of eastern Asia, northwards from China and Japan, and east to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and western Canada.

U. p. resplendens is found along the Pacific coast of North America from British Columbia to Baja California.




Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Japan - subspecies pelagicus.

full

Pelagic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) - ZooChat


Photo by @DesertTortoise in the wild, USA - bird of the subspecies resplendens.

full

Pelagic Cormorant (Urile pelagicus) - ZooChat


Photo by @splendens in the wild, USA - bird of the subspecies resplendens in breeding plumage.

full

Pelagic cormorant - ZooChat
 
Last edited:
Brandt's Cormorant Urile penicillatus
Monotypic



Distributed along the Pacific coast of North America, from Alaska to the Gulf of California.



Photo by @Great Argus in the wild, USA - bird in breeding plumage. Note the long white plumes on the neck. Other characteristics of the breeding plumage - which are not very obvious in this photo but can still be seen - are that there is a patch of long white plumes on the back, and the gular skin is bright blue.

full

Brandt's Cormorant swallowing fish - ZooChat


Photo by @GiornoPizza in the wild, USA - in this photo the blue gular pouch can be more clearly seen (in non-breeding birds the throat skin is brown), but the white plumes on the neck and back appear to be absent.

full

Brandt's Cormorant - ZooChat


Photo by @Austin the Sengi in the wild, USA - non-breeding birds (note the fully-brown throat skin).

full

Brandt’s Cormorants (Urile penicillatus) - ZooChat
 
Last edited:
Spectacled or Pallas' Cormorant Urile perspicillatus
Monotypic



The largest known cormorant, possibly almost-flightless, known only from Bering Island east of the Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia). The species was discovered in 1741 when it was noted as being common. The island was settled in 1826 and the species was extinct by about 1850.



The HBW says that only five museum specimens are known, all collected in the 1840s. However there are actually six as far as I can tell, which were collected between the 1830s and 1840s: two at Tring (UK), two in St. Petersburg (Russia), one in Helsinki (Finland), and one in Leiden (Netherlands). A seventh specimen in Dresden (Germany), mentioned in several works on extinct birds, apparently has never existed (see Richard King's book The Devil's Cormorant).



There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top