Bounty Islands Shag Leucocarbo ranfurlyi Scientific name definitions

71 cm; male 2300–2900 g, female 2000–2700 g. Adult has rather long crest on crown, head and upperparts including outer sides of thighs black with bluish gloss, greener on head, less bright and more bronzy on upperwing, with variable white bar over lesser and fewer median wing-coverts; underwing blackish with variable white bar at base of leading edge; tail duller blackish with reduced white on base of shafts; chin and throat  white, sharply contrasting with glossy black neck, white on breast  to undertail-coverts, can be narrow on foreneck; non-breeding adult duller and has crest much reduced or lacking. Iris deep greenish grey; broad bare facial skin red to dusky red, becoming brighter orange-red below gape and on gular pouch; bill dark grey with variable amount of horn-brown admixed, mandible with yellowish base, yellowish-horn tip, and subterminal dusky spot, becoming paler grey-brown in non-breeding season; legs  pink. Sexes similar. Juvenile  has dark areas of plumage dark brown, paler earth-brown on central back, most of upperwing-coverts have pale tips, while fringes of many lesser and some median coverts are evenly pale forming a panel, and all coverts and remiges are pointed; iris brownish, facial skin pinkish or brownish, legs pale brownish or pale pinkish brown; next plumage blacker, and bare parts also intermediate. Recalls L. colensoi and L. campbelli, but larger and foreneck not entirely black as in latter, while facial skin is much redder and plainer-coloured, lacking well-defined yellow line at bill base; L. onslowi further differs in having caruncles on sides of forehead; rest of pied shags with white foreneck and black head-sides have caruncles and lack red on face, except some L. chalconotus, which have duller bare face above gape, with bluish eyering, and usually a less slim bill.

Sometimes placed in Phalacrocorax or Euleucocarbo, but classification here follows results of a comprehensive molecular phylogeny for the entire family (1 Kennedy, M. and Spencer, H.G. (2014). Classification of the cormorants of the world. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 79: 249–257. Close ). In past, often considered a race of L. campbelli (which see). Monotypic.

Restricted to Bounty Is, E of S New Zealand.

Marine. Forages out to sea  and near coast. Breeds and rests on ledges and alcoves in sea cliffs and sometimes along narrow ridges.

Male gives soft “corr corr” and ticking calls during display, also “he-he-he” during gaping display; soft “borr-borr-borr” as threat. Female more or less silent.

Laying in Oct–Nov, at least. Forms dense monospecific colonies of up to (formerly) c. 300 pairs; centres of adjoining nests only c. 1 m apart. Nest made of brown seaweed (Marginariella), epiphytes of seaweed, feathers, debris, pebbles and mud, placed on narrow cliff ledge, much less frequently on narrow skyline ridge. Clutch 2–3 eggs. No other information.

VULNERABLE. Has very small breeding range and population, making it susceptible to stochastic events and human impacts. Small population requires constant monitoring, although no serious threats currently known; if any population decline noted, this species may warrant uplisting to Endangered. BirdLife summary records 569 pairs on 11 islands in 1978, and colonies on 13 islands (and 120 nests and 368 individuals counted) in 1997 (census very difficult, as not possible to land on islands); in survey from land in 2005, 618 individuals counted. Whether differences in estimates are due to differing survey methods, to annual differences in peak breeding time or to real change in numbers is not known, but comparison with other species surveyed at same times indicates that trends are real. Surveys in 2011 suggest that population has remained stable since 2005, thus at least 620 individuals, corresponding to c. 410 mature adults. Numbers likely to fluctuate markedly owing to effects of weather conditions on feeding. Extreme weather can be a threat at all times. Other adverse factor is the presence of large numbers of fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri), Salvin’s Albatross (Thalassarche salvini) and Erect-crested Penguins (Eudyptes sclateri), all of which restrict available nesting sites for present species; most likely long-term threat is changes in the marine environment around the islands, possibly resulting from climate change. The islands are nature reserves, with no introduced predators (although arrival of mammalian predators considered very unlikely, it is still a possibility); in 1998, declared part of a World Heritage Site.