Feathered Friday ~ Australian Pied Cormorant (Shag)

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You're looking at Shags on Shag Rock, not far off shore in Trigg, a suburb of Perth, Australia.

Shag is the local name for the Australian Pied Cormorant, a medium sized member of the cormorant family. Shags stand between 65-85 cm (25-33 inches) high with a wingspan of 110-130 cm (43-51 inches). Males weigh approximately 2.2 kg (4.85 lbs) and the slightly smaller females weigh 1.7 kg (3.75 lbs).

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Shags feed predominantly on small sea life. They typically live in small colonies but may be in very large ones.

Males build nest platforms of twigs which they stick to rocks near shore or in trees using their own excrement. From the age of 2 onward, monogamous pairs lay one clutch of eggs per year. Both parents are responsible for taking care of the young fledglings. Occasionally, nests are shared between pairs mating in spring vs ones mating in fall.

Shags rarely travel more than 20 km (12 miles) from their colony. They are found in New Zealand and all Australian states except Tasmania.

References

Australian Pied Cormorant explained
Australian Pied Cormorant

Images

Photos taken with my Canon SX620 HS in Trigg, Western Australia

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@kansuze

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6 comments
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Wonderful photos and info! Would it be possible to switch to using the #featheredfriends tag and also tag me? I don't want to miss seeing your bird posts!
!Tip

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I can do that. Is it still on Fridays?

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Any day of the week. That's why I changed it to Friends, so that people would not feel they couldn't post if they missed Friday. 😊

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Hello @kansuze!
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Excellent info and wonderful photos!

We hope, you'll keep up the good work, and continue posting such articles in the future as well!!
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