European Shag (Gulosus aristotelis)

Other Names (World)
European Shag, Common Shag, Green Shag, Green Cormorant

Family
Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants)

Size
65 - 80 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1761)

Habitat
Rocky coasts, islands, rare on fresh water.

Range (Guide)

Albania (B), Algeria, Belgium, Bulgaria (B) (NB), Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B) (NB), Cyprus (B) (NB), Egypt, Faroe Islands (B) (NB), France (B) (NB) (P), Germany (NB), Gibraltar (B) (NB), Greece (B) (NB) (P), Iceland (B) (NB), Ireland (B) (NB), Israel, Italy (B) (NB), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B) (NB), Morocco, Netherlands Antilles (NB), Norway (B) (NB), Portugal (B) (NB), Russia (European) (B), Slovenia (NB), Spain (B) (NB), Tunisia, Turkey (B) (NB), Ukraine (B) (NB), United Kingdom (B) (NB).

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).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Fish, mainly sand eels and herrings.

Voice
Mostly silent but grunts and clicks at breeding sites.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (27)...)

European Shag (Gulosus aristotelis) [XC648529]
by Irish Wildlife Sounds from Derrynafinnia, County Cork, Ireland (call)

European Shag (Gulosus aristotelis) [XC134234]
by Alex Lees from Vardo, Vard\u00f8, Finnmark, Norway (alarm 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.
riggenbachi Hartert, 1923 - Coast of Morocco.

References
See References.

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

Files:

JPG files for European Shag (Gulosus aristotelis) - 10 files

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BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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