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MarinePlatform nestHuge · 2.5 kg
ID tip
The guanay cormorant is similar in plumage to the rock shag Leucocarbo magellanicus, but is larger, measuring 71–78 cm from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, and has more extensive white on the underparts. The bill is grayish with some red at the base. The face is red with a green eye-ring. It has orange-pink feet. The head, neck and back are black, as are the outer parts of the thighs. The throat patch, breast and belly are white. In breeding plumage it has a few white feathers on the sides of the head and neck.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Guanay Cormorant
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Guanay Cormorant
The map shades 4 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Argentina.
About the Guanay Cormorant
The guanay cormorant or guanay shag is a member of the cormorant family found on the Pacific coast of Peru and northern Chile. After breeding it spreads south to southern parts of Chile and north to Ecuador, and has also been recorded as far north as Panama and Colombia, probably a result of mass dispersal due to food shortage in El Niño years. Its major habitats include shallow seawater and rocky shores. A former population on the Patagonian Atlantic coast of Argentina appears to be extinct.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Rock ShagLeucocarbo magellanicusAt a distance, the rock shag is a black and white bird, with head, neck and upperparts black and chest and underparts white.
Stewart Island ShagLeucocarbo chalconotusThe species is dimorphic, with two plumages.
New Zealand King ShagLeucocarbo carunculatusIt is a large (76 cm long, 2.5 kg in weight) black and white cormorant with pink feet.
Side by side: Guanay Cormorant vs Imperial Shag · Guanay Cormorant vs Rock Shag · Guanay Cormorant vs Stewart Island Shag
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