Little Pied Cormorant

Microcarbo melanoleucos

The little pied cormorant, little shag or kawaupaka is a common species of Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Timor-Leste and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the subantarctic. It is a small short-billed cormorant usually black above and white below with a yellow bill and small crest, although a mostly black white-throated form predominates in New Zealand. Three subspecies are recognised. Until recently, most authorities referred to this species as Phalacrocorax melanoleucos.

Scientific name

Microcarbo melanoleucos

Family

Cormorants and Shags

IUCN status

LC