New Zealand King Shag
Leucocarbo carunculatus
A large, thick-necked black-and-white marine shag endemic to the Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand. Shows pink feet, a distinct white patch on the wings, and a blue eye-ring. Breeding adults have yellow, warty caruncles on either side of the bill. Very wary of humans and boats. Juvenile birds have dull brown upperparts and light facial skin. Similar to the Pied Shag, but white facial feathers remain below the bill; the Pied Shag has a predominantly white face that reaches the eye and a slimmer neck. Stewart Island and Chatham Islands Shag are very similar, but the three do not overlap in range.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Leucocarbo carunculatus
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Suliformes
- Family
- Phalacrocoracidae
- Genus
- Leucocarbo
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Pale Martin
Riparia diluta
Small dull swallow, brown above and white below, with a sharp brown chest band. Nearly identical to Bank Swallow, with which it breeds sympatrically and overlaps on migration, but look for a slightly less well-defined lower border to the cheek patch and a slightly paler, more diffuse breast band. Voice also differs subtly, Pale gives primarily series of dry notes with a more trilling quality than Bank Swallow’s. Similarly picky in its nesting locales, limited only to sandy hillsides and banks, often near a water source.
Whyte's Barbet
Stactolaema whytii
A mid-sized brown barbet with a white line under the eye and white wing patches. Geographically very variable, with differing amounts of lemon yellow on the crown (from completely covered to none), and speckles on the breast. Immature is duller than the adult. Has a darker head, larger wing patches and lower-pitched call than the similar Anchieta’s Barbet. It is a low-density resident in Miombo (Brachystegia) woodland, favoring riverine areas. Calls a nasal “pooh-pooh-pooh” which often reveals its presence.
Collared Crow
Corvus torquatus
By far the most distinctive crow of farmland, fields, and other open spaces: adults black with white hindneck connecting to white breast band. Superficially similar to adult Daurian Jackdaw, but the latter is more compact and smaller, with pale plumage extending through the belly. Call is a higher-pitched cawing than that of Carrion and Large-billed Crows.
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