Macquarie Shag

Leucocarbo purpurascens

Macquarie Shag, Leucocarbo purpurascens, is a marine cormorant found on Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean, with a small outlying presence on the nearby Bishop and Clerk Islets. It is confined to this subantarctic island group, and away from breeding and resting sites it lives at sea. The bird is one of the blue-eyed shags and is usually treated as a separate species. It has dark upperparts, white underparts, white wing bars, pink feet and, in breeding adults, orange facial features and blue eye-rings.