King shag

Description

The New Zealand king shag (Leucocarbo carunculatus),also known as the rough-faced shag or king shag,is a rare bird endemic to New Zealand.It is a large (76 cm long,2.5 kg in weight) black and white cormorant with pink feet.White patches on the wings appear as bars when the wings are folded.Yellow-orange swellings (caruncles) are found above the base of the bill.The grey gular pouch is reddish in the breeding season.A blue eye-ring indicates its kinship with the other blue-eyed shags.They can be seen from the Cook Strait ferries in Queen Charlotte Sound opposite the beginning of the Tory Channel.