Heard Island shag facts for kids

The Heard Island shag (also called the Heard Island cormorant) is a special kind of cormorant. It's a sea bird that lives only around the Heard and McDonald Islands. These islands are part of Australia, located far south in the Southern Ocean. They are about 4100 kilometers (about 2500 miles) southwest of Perth, Western Australia.

What Kind of Bird Is It?

The Heard Island shag belongs to a group of birds called "blue-eyed shags." Scientists often group animals into categories. This bird is sometimes placed in the Leucocarbo genus (a group of closely related species). It was once thought to be a type of imperial shag. Today, most scientists agree it is its own unique species.

Where Do They Live?

Heard Island shags only live on the subantarctic Heard and McDonald Islands. They are only known to build their nests and raise their young on Heard Island. When they are not breeding or resting, they spend their time in the ocean.

What Do They Look Like?

The Heard Island shag has mostly black feathers on its back and white feathers on its belly. Its cheeks and the feathers around its ears are white. It also has white stripes on its wings. A cool feature is a black, curved crest of feathers on its forehead. Their feet are pink!

When they are ready to breed, adult shags get special orange bumps called caruncles above their bill and in front of their eyes. They also have bright blue rings around their eyes. These birds are about 77 centimeters (about 30 inches) long. Their wingspan can reach 120 centimeters (about 47 inches), and they weigh around 3 kilograms (about 6.6 pounds).

How Do They Behave?

Heard Island shags are very social birds. They like to gather in groups to rest. These groups can be small, with 10 to 20 birds, or very large, with hundreds of shags together.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

These birds stay on Heard Island all year round. They breed every year in large groups called colonies. The time for finding a mate and showing off starts in late August and goes until early October.

Their nests are like small mounds. They build them mostly from the stems, roots, and soil of a type of tussock grass called Poa cookii. These nests are usually about 22 centimeters (about 8.7 inches) tall. Nests are built at least 50 centimeters (about 20 inches) apart from each other.

Female shags usually lay two or three eggs. This happens mainly between mid-September and November. The eggs hatch from November to February. The young chicks learn to fly and leave the nest between January and March.

What Do They Eat?

Heard Island shags look for food close to the coast in shallow waters. Their main diet includes polychaetes (a type of sea worm) and fish. When they are feeding their chicks, they tend to eat more fish.

Their Status and Protection

Scientists believe there are about 1000 breeding pairs of Heard Island shags. This bird is listed as Vulnerable under Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. This means they need special protection.

They are vulnerable because their population is small and lives in only one area. Their breeding success can change a lot depending on the weather and how much food is available. A big worry for these birds is climate change. Changes in sea temperatures could affect their food supply.

See also

In Spanish: Cormorán de la Heard para niños