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Stewart Island Shag

Bronze Shag

Leucocarbo chalconotus

Just obvious in the wing is the Stewart Island Shags distinctive white wing flash. When at rest this appears as a white "shoulder flash". This and pink feet help distinguish them from the larger Pied Shag.

Stewart Island Shags nest on rock headlands or small Islets & stacks (Nuggets). The biggest local colony is on Whero, a small rocky stack just outside the entrance to Paterson Inlet. Whero was once covered in coastal forest, mainly muttonbird shrubs and inaka. In the 1950's a colony of Stewart Island shags moved in and their droppings have completely denuded the island. It's now just a seething quagmire of mud and shag droppings and the many species that once called Whero home have abandoned the place.

The Bronze morph which appears in photos above is quite common. It appears often as black and so can be quite confusing.

Size 680 mm


Audio. As yet I have no recordings of Stewart Island Shags.
Nesting. Stewart Island shags nest on rocky headlands. Their nests just outside "lunge range" of their neighbours. The nest is a mud cone tied together with plant material. Nesting areas stink.