Blue-eyed shag

Name: Blue-eyed Shag, Imperial Shag, Blue-eyed Cormorant (Phalacrocorax atriceps)

Length: 70 to 80 cm

Weight: 1.5 to 3.5 kg

Location: Southern hemisphere from New Zealand and southern South America down to Antarctica

Conservation status: Least Concern

Diet: Fish, crustaceans, octopuses, worms, snails, slugs

Appearance: Blue, red, or purple ring around the eye (the skin around the eye is colored, not the eye itself). White underparts, black backs and heads, short black crest during breeding season

How do Blue-eyed Shags feed?

Blue-eyed Shags dive to average depths of 25 meters, reaching up to 60 meters. They fish in groups, called "rafts," near shore, herding fish together. They can stay underwater for up to 4 minutes.

Are Blue-eyed Shags social?

They form small colonies during breeding season, usually a few hundred members. They may share breeding grounds with Black-browed Albatrosses, Rock Shags, and Southern Rockhopper Penguins.

How fast do Blue-eyed Shags fly?

They can fly up to 50 km per hour.

What are Blue-eyed Shag birthing rituals like?

Breeding begins in October-November. Monogamous pairs build nests from grass and seaweed, using excrement and mud as mortar. Nests resemble small volcanoes. Females lay up to 5 eggs, usually 3. Incubation takes about 5 weeks, and chicks fledge a little over a month after hatching.

How long do Blue-eyed Shags live?

They live 15 to 20 years in the wild.

How many Blue-eyed Shags are there today?

Population estimates are uncertain due to taxonomic confusion, but rough estimates put the population at over 20,000 individuals worldwide.

Do Blue-eyed Shags have any natural predators?

Chicks and eggs are vulnerable to Sheathbills, Skuas, and sometimes rats. Adults can occasionally be taken by Leopard Seals.

7 Superlative Blue-eyed Shag Facts

• The shag family has taxonomic confusion with 8 to 14 species, depending on the source.
• They are the only cormorants to enter the Antarctic proper.
• They are the only Antarctic birds to maintain a year-round nest if the area is ice-free.
• They stay close to their nests to feed, signaling nearby land to sailors and explorers.
• Their chicks are born without protective down, relying on parents for warmth.
• They often steal nesting material from neighbors.
• They have bumpy structures at the base of their bills called “caruncles.”