Vagrant to Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Malta, Montenegro (NB), Poland, Romania, Serbia (NB), Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic.
Population
Estimated population is 230,000 - 240,000 (2010).
European Shag (Gulosus aristotelis) [XC657692]
by Paul Kelly from Mainland (near Virkie), Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom (call)
European Shag (Gulosus aristotelis) [XC891737]
by id from Arrondissement de Quimper (near Beuzec-Cap-Sizun), Finistere, Brittany, France (call, flight call)
Nest
A heap of seaweed and vegetation on a sheltered rocky ledge.
Eggs (Guide)
Usually 3; pale blue; ellipsoidal. Incubation: about 31 days; by both sexes.
Subspecies
Sometimes placed in genus Stictocarbo. Race riggenbachi may be inseparable from desmarestii.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
aristotelis (Linnaeus, 1761) - Iceland and northern Scandinavia south to Iberian Peninsula.
desmarestii (Payraudeau, 1826) - Central Mediterranean east to Black Sea.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet