About the Little Pied Cormorant
The little pied cormorant, little shag or little pied shag is a common species of Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Timor-Leste and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the subantarctic. It is a small short-billed cormorant usually black above and white below with a yellow bill and small crest, although a mostly black white-throated form predominates in New Zealand. Three subspecies are recognised. Until recently, most authorities referred to this species as Phalacrocorax melanoleucos.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
The little pied cormorant is a small cormorant measuring 56–58 cm (22–23 in) with a shorter 3 cm (1.2 in) bill and longer tail than the little black cormorant; it has a small black crest. It is found in two morphs in New Zealand. Subspecies melanoleucos and brevicauda are found only in a pied morph, black (with a slight green tinge) above and white beneath. This is also found in subspecies brevirostris, but in this form the melanistic morph is much more common.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where the Little Pied Cormorant lives
When to see the Little Pied Cormorant
Peak activity in October · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Little CormorantMicrocarbo nigerThe little cormorant is about 50 centimetres (20 in) long and only slightly smaller than the Indian cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis).
Reed CormorantMicrocarbo africanusThis is a small cormorant, 50–55 cm (20–22 in) in overall length with a wingspan of 80–90 cm (31–35 in).
Pygmy CormorantMicrocarbo pygmaeusThe pygmy cormorant is a member of the Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant) family of seabirds.
Side by side: Little Cormorant vs Little Pied Cormorant · Little Pied Cormorant vs Reed Cormorant
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