Skip to content
BirdGachaAll cards

BIRDGACHA / FIELD NOTES

Cormorants, Shags

Long necks, fairly narrow bodies and bills with hooked tips characterize cormorants and shags. Many are dark, but white underparts, pale cheeks, crests and colourful bare facial skin occur in different species; body size and neck proportions are often useful before subtle plumage details. Examples include Pygmy Cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus), Red-legged Cormorant (Poikilocarbo gaimardi), and Brandt's Cormorant (Urile penicillatus). They pursue fish and other aquatic prey underwater, swimming with their feet and returning to rocks, branches or shores to rest. Forehead shape, the outline of the throat patch and bill proportions help distinguish cormorants resting together beside water.

How to recognize Cormorants, Shags

  • Look for a hooked bill tip rather than the straight spear of an anhinga.
  • Compare neck thickness, forehead angle and the bare throat patch.
  • Check pale underparts, facial markings and any seasonal crest.
  • Use body size and habitat alongside plumage when separating cormorants and shags.

Where they live

The family occurs in freshwater lakes and rivers as well as marine coasts and offshore islands in many regions. Marine cliffs, rocky shores, estuaries, lakes and rivers support different members. Some breed on coastal ledges while others nest in trees beside inland water, and feeding and roosting sites can be separate; the family is not restricted to salt water. Check whether the local species uses freshwater or marine sites, particularly when similar dark birds gather at a shared roost.

Species accounts: Pygmy Cormorant · Red-legged Cormorant · Brandt's Cormorant

Sources — natural history: BTO: Great Cormorant identification, inland waters and coastal habitats · Cornell Birds of the World: Pygmy Cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus), member species natural history.

Classification: IOC World Bird List: family names and classification.

Some Cornell Birds of the World account sections require a subscription.

Updated 2026-11-06. Species counts follow this site's catalogue. This is an editorial summary, not an expert peer review.

Explore similarities in appearance, feeding and habitat. These comparisons do not necessarily indicate the closest evolutionary relatives.

Species records retain their original English, Chinese and scientific names.

33 results · page 1 of 1

Pygmy CormorantPygmy CormorantMicrocarbo pygmaeusReed CormorantReed CormorantMicrocarbo africanusCrowned CormorantCrowned CormorantMicrocarbo coronatusLittle CormorantLittle CormorantMicrocarbo nigerLittle Pied CormorantLittle Pied CormorantMicrocarbo melanoleucosRed-legged CormorantRed-legged CormorantPoikilocarbo gaimardiBrandt's CormorantBrandt's CormorantUrile penicillatusRed-faced CormorantRed-faced CormorantUrile urilePelagic CormorantPelagic CormorantUrile pelagicusBank CormorantBank CormorantPhalacrocorax neglectusSocotra CormorantSocotra CormorantPhalacrocorax nigrogularisPitt ShagPitt ShagPhalacrocorax featherstoniSpotted ShagSpotted ShagPhalacrocorax punctatusBlack-faced CormorantBlack-faced CormorantPhalacrocorax fuscescensAustralian Pied CormorantAustralian Pied CormorantPhalacrocorax variusLittle Black CormorantLittle Black CormorantPhalacrocorax sulcirostrisIndian CormorantIndian CormorantPhalacrocorax fuscicollisCape CormorantCape CormorantPhalacrocorax capensisJapanese CormorantJapanese CormorantPhalacrocorax capillatusGreat CormorantGreat CormorantPhalacrocorax carboEuropean ShagEuropean ShagGulosus aristotelisFlightless CormorantFlightless CormorantNannopterum harrisiNeotropic CormorantNeotropic CormorantNannopterum brasilianumDouble-crested CormorantDouble-crested CormorantNannopterum auritumRock ShagRock ShagLeucocarbo magellanicusGuanay CormorantGuanay CormorantLeucocarbo bougainvilliorumBounty ShagBounty ShagLeucocarbo ranfurlyiNew Zealand King ShagNew Zealand King ShagLeucocarbo carunculatusChatham Islands ShagChatham Islands ShagLeucocarbo onslowiStewart Island ShagStewart Island ShagLeucocarbo chalconotusAuckland ShagAuckland ShagLeucocarbo colensoiCampbell ShagCampbell ShagLeucocarbo campbelliImperial ShagImperial ShagLeucocarbo atriceps