Rare king shag — a truly royal bird

Forest and Bird, Volume 14, Issue 3, 1 August 1982, Page 43

Rare king shag — a truly royal bird

Bv

National Conservation © Officer

David G. Collingwood,

THE KING SHAG, Phalacrocorax carunculatus, is a sedentary species that remains in its breeding grounds all the year round. This beautiful bird is therefore seen only in Cook Strait and the outer Marlborough Sounds, a small circular area of about 50 km radius. It breeds on White Rock, Duffers Reef, North Trio, and Sentinel Rock (all island sites) and recently on a mainland rocky point in the Sounds but still within its natural breeding radius. This latest breeding has been a fitful thing over the past 9 years and apparently only one pair has been involved. However, adult and young birds also frequent the area and it seems that a colonisation is under way.

THERE ARE only 200 to 300 king shags in all, and, strangely, this is about the number estimated by H. H. Travers 100 years ago. An example of this magnificent species was collected by Forster in Queen Charlotte Sound during Cook’s second voyage, but he thought it the same as a species he had found in Tierra del Fuego.

It. remained: for. Hi: > i. Travers in 1875 to establish the king shag’s unique position among New Zealand avifauna. Apparently the Maoris were unaware of its separate species nature, for they had no name for it.

In later years some 14 other species of similar blue-eyed marine shag were discovered in subantarctic islands. They are all closely related and share the habit of confining themselves within a_ small breeding area; except for species inhabiting the coasts of Chile and Peru (where they are famous for producing guano) and the several New Zealand species with blue eyes, the

birds are typical of the colder subantarctic. The New Zealand king shag well merits its title by reason of its size and the rich hues of its plumage. It also shares the unenviable distinction of now being one of the rarest shags in the world, for as a species it only just survived to enjoy the protection afforded by an Order in Council in 1927. Apparently never a numerous species, the king shag is now safe to expand its numbers, but so far it seems to have shown little inclination, much preferring its sedentary life with its close-knit community. The bird is not a strong flyer

and when it leaves a rocky perch it nearly always strikes the water, with much kicking and splashing in gaining flight speed. But it dives and swims well, which is just as well, for it is a sea-bottom feeder, liking small blue and red cod and crustaceans. On land it shuffles along clumsily in the same way as a penguin. The king shag is about 76cm high, with its head, cheeks, neck sides, back, and outer thigh feathers an iridescent metallic bluish green. Because of its white underparts and its trade-marks — the white spot and set of white feathers running down its wing coverts — it looks for all the

world like an_ aristocratic gentleman in full dress of white stiff shirt and _ black tails. It has pink feet and a brilliant cobalt eye with a bright blue eyelid. It has no crest, but has an orange wattle and red brown facial skin. Solid nests The king shags nest on large built-up nests of marine growth and coastal plants cemented together by guano. These solid nests are built up year by year and are spaced regularly about the rocks. For preference they nest close to the coastal vegetation edge on a bare rock shelf a metre or so above the high-tide mark. The breeding season spreads over several months from June to early summer. So it is a winter breeder. If they are not disturbed by gulls, a pair can successfully raise two or three chicks, but there is_ unfortunately heavy mortality by marauding birds. For all its small numbers the king shag’s present status is quite healthy and with the protection now available, this proud and most beautiful of sea birds will continue to grace the outer Marlborough Sounds. ry