Sunday 19 May
Pitt Island shag (Phalacrocorax featherstoni)
Pitt Island shag fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Pitt Island shag description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Pelecaniformes |
| Family | Phalacrocoracidae |
| Genus | Phalacrocorax (1) |
The Pitt Island shag has two head crests, which distinguishes it from the cormorants, one on the forehead and the other on the crown. During the breeding season these are upright and resemble a Mohican, but during the winter season and in non-breeding birds they lie flat. Breeders have a black head, rump, tail and thighs and dark grey back and wings with small black spots. The underparts are lighter grey and the bare facial skin is green. Non-breeders have paler underparts and the facial skin fades temporarily to yellow. The female is silent, but the male is noisy, particularly when displaying (2).
- Also known as
- Pitt shag.
- Synonyms
- Phalacrocorax punctatus, Stictocarbo featherstoni.
- Size
- Length: 63 cm (2)
- Recovery Plan for Chatham Island Shag and Pitt Island Shag, 2001 – 2011:
www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/TSRP43.pdf - BirdLife International:
http://www.birdlife.org - Colonies
- A group of organisms living together. Individuals in the group are not physiologically connected and may not be related, such as a colony of birds.
- Endemic
- A species or taxonomic group that is only found in one particular country or geographic area.
- Invertebrates
- Animals with no backbone.
- IUCN Red List (June, 2008)
http://www.iucnredlist.org - BirdLife International (May, 2006)
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3700&m=0 - view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
More »
Top
Related species
Pitt Island shag biology
A skilled hunter, the Pitt Island shag dives for fish and marine invertebrates, moving through the water with its large, webbed feet. After a fishing session it returns to land to dry out its wings, holding them out towards the sun. Unlike most waterbirds, the feathers are not waterproof; this is thought to be an adaptation to aid diving, as the shags are not kept buoyant by air bubbles amongst the feathers (2).
Shags breed in colonies on rocky shores once a year, the female laying chalky blue eggs in a loose nest while her partner stands guard or fishes. The young are fed by both parents, who regurgitate the contents of their stomachs on demand (2).
TopPitt Island shag range
Endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand, the Pitt Island shag is found not only on the island of Pitt, but also on Chatham, Mangere, Little Mangere, Rangatira, Star Keys, the Pyramid, Big and Middle Sister, Murumurus, the Castle and Rabbit Islands (2).
More »
Top
Species with a similar range
Pitt Island shag habitat
Shags are coastal rather than open-ocean waterbirds, choosing to return frequently to rocky shores, islets, and cliffs (2).
More »
Top
Species found in a similar habitat
Pitt Island shag status
Classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List 2007 (1).
Pitt Island shag threats
The Pitt Island shag is severely restricted by limited breeding space. It is thought that breeding success is affected by the presence of several introduced species on the islands, including cattle, sheep, pigs, cats, dogs, rats and the weka bird (Gallirallus australis). Birds are sometimes illegally shot by fisherman for stealing their catch and they are also caught in very large numbers in crayfish pots. Changes in the marine environment associated with climate change may be affecting the prey species of the Pitt Island shag (2).
TopPitt Island shag conservation
The sheep and cattle of Rangatira were removed in 1961, as were the sheep of Mangere Island in 1968. This was judged to have had a beneficial effect and authorities are now working to remove feral cats and weka from Pitt Island, and sheep, cattle and pigs from parts of Pitt and Chatham Island that are deemed to be suitable for nesting colonies. Colonies that appear to be suffering as a result of stock may be fenced off in the future, depending on agreements with local people and landowners (2).
|
View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
Find out more
For more information on the Pitt Island shag and its conservation see:
For more information on this and other bird species please see:
Authentication
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact: arkive@wildscreen.org.ukTopGlossary
References
More »Related species
This species is featured in:
This species is affected by global climate
change. To learn about climate change
and the species that are affected,
visit our climate change pages.
Sign up to our newsletter
Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.
Get involved
ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!
Saturday 18 May
Friday 17 May
X
Close
Close
Image credit
Adult Pitt Island shag, in breeding colouration
© Peter Reese / naturepl.com
Nature Picture Library
5a Great George Street
Bristol
BS1 5RR
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 117 911 4675
Fax: +44 (0) 117 911 4699
info@naturepl.com
http://www.naturepl.com
X
Close
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
X
Close
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
X
Close
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.