European Shag vs Little Black Cormorant

European Shag

Gulosus aristotelis

Huge1.8 kgMarine

This is a medium-large black bird, 68 to 78 cm (27 to 31 in) long and with a 95-to-110-centimetre (37 to 43 in) wingspan. It has a longish tail and a yellow throat patch. Adults have a small crest in the breeding season. It is distinguished from the great cormorant by its smaller size, lighter build, thinner bill, and, in breeding adults, by the crest and metallic green-tinged sheen on the feathers. Among those differences are that a shag is smaller and has a lighter, narrower beak, and the juvenile shag has darker underparts.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Tony, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by

Little Black Cormorant

Phalacrocorax sulcirostris

Large995 gWetland

The little black cormorant is a small cormorant measuring 60–65 cm (23.5–25.5 in) with all black plumage. The back has a greenish sheen. In breeding season, white feathers appear irregularly about the head and neck, with a whitish eyebrow evident. The plumage is a more fade brown afterwards. Males and females are identical in plumage. The long slender bill is grey, and legs and feet black. The iris of the adult is green and the juvenile brown. Immature birds have brown and black plumage.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: patrickkavanagh · CC BY 2.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: European Shag and Little Black Cormorant.