The Spotted Shag is a slender, elegantly patterned marine cormorant found only around the coasts of New Zealand. Unlike the sombre plumage of many of its relatives, it wears a subtle grey and buff coat marked with small dark spots on the back and wings, and in breeding condition it develops striking double crests and bold white stripes down the neck along with turquoise skin around the eye.
It is a bird of the open coast, feeding in inshore and offshore waters and nesting on steep cliffs and rocky islets. Fast and agile in flight, often seen in long lines low over the sea, it is one of the most attractive and distinctive of the world's cormorants and a familiar sight along many stretches of the New Zealand coastline.
Look for a slim, long-necked cormorant with a two-toned appearance: pale silvery-grey face, throat and underparts contrasting with a darker, finely spotted back. In breeding plumage it is unmistakable, with a double crest, a bold white stripe running from above the eye down each side of the neck, and bright turquoise-green bare skin around the eye and on the throat. Non-breeding birds are plainer and greyer.
| Build | Slender and long-necked, more delicate than most cormorants |
| Plumage | Grey to buff body with small dark spots on the back and wings |
| Breeding adult | Double crest, white neck stripe, and turquoise skin around the eye and throat |
| Underparts | Pale grey, unlike the dark belly of many other shags |
| Bill | Slender and yellowish-brown |
| Size | 64 to 74 cm long, medium-sized |
Away from the colony the Spotted Shag is generally silent. At breeding sites it becomes more vocal, giving low croaks, grunts and gargling sounds during displays and interactions at the nest. As with other cormorants, most of these calls are quiet, guttural notes exchanged between neighbours and pair members.
The species is endemic to New Zealand, occurring around much of the coastline of both the North and South Islands with regional concentrations, including populations around Wellington, Banks Peninsula and the Marlborough Sounds. It is a marine bird, favouring open coastal waters, harbours and bays, and rarely straying inland. It feeds at sea and returns to rocky coasts and offshore stacks to roost and breed.
The Spotted Shag feeds mainly on small schooling fish caught by pursuit diving, along with marine invertebrates such as crustaceans and small squid. It often forages well offshore and in deeper water than many other shags, sometimes in loose feeding flocks, diving from the surface and using its webbed feet to chase prey underwater.
Spotted Shags nest colonially on ledges of steep sea cliffs and rocky islets. The nest is a mound of seaweed, vegetation and guano cemented onto a ledge, in which two to four pale bluish eggs are laid. Both parents incubate and feed the chicks, which are naked at hatching and later covered in dark down. Breeding can occur over an extended season, and pairs may raise more than one brood.
- Pied Shag: A larger black-and-white New Zealand shag, boldly pied rather than grey and spotted
- Little Shag: A small, stubby-billed cormorant of New Zealand coasts and waterways, lacking the spotting and crests
- Pitt Island Shag: A close relative restricted to the Chatham Islands, similar in shape but differently marked
Where does the Spotted Shag get its name?
From the small dark spots scattered across its grey-brown back and wing feathers, which are visible at close range and give the bird its distinctive spangled appearance.
Is the Spotted Shag found outside New Zealand?
No. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found only around the coasts of the North and South Islands, making it one of the country's special coastal birds.
How is a shag different from a cormorant?
In New Zealand and Britain the words shag and cormorant are used loosely for members of the same family. There is no strict scientific distinction; both terms refer to fish-eating diving birds of the cormorant family.
When is the Spotted Shag at its most colourful?
During the breeding season, when adults develop double crests, bold white neck stripes and bright turquoise-green skin around the eye and throat. Outside breeding the plumage is much plainer and greyer.