Birds
Pitt Shag
Leucocarbo featherstoni · also called Pitt Island shag
Sharing the same small archipelago as the Chatham shag yet remaining a genuinely distinct species, a Pitt shag breeds in scattered cliffside colonies across the Chatham Islands group, one of the rarer blue-eyed shags found anywhere in the Southern Ocean.
Overview
The Pitt shag, Leucocarbo featherstoni, is an Endangered seabird native to ocean and coastal habitat found only around the Chatham Islands group, a remote outpost of New Zealand in the South Pacific. Its close but genetically distinct relationship to the Chatham shag, its small and declining population, and its striking blue eye-ring make it one of the more conservation-critical blue-eyed shag species found anywhere in the region.
Two species sharing one archipelago
Rather than each claiming a separate island group, the Pitt shag and the Chatham shag have both settled into the same small Chatham Islands archipelago, a rare exception to the usual one-island-one-species pattern seen among most of their blue-eyed shag relatives.
Status
Endangered, with populations remaining small and confined to the Chatham Islands group, and numbers considered to be declining over time.
Pitt Shag: common questions
Is the Pitt shag the same species as the Chatham shag?
No, this species is genetically and physically distinct from the nearby Chatham shag, despite both species breeding within the same small Chatham Islands archipelago.
Where does the Pitt shag breed?
This species breeds on coastal cliffs and rock stacks around the Chatham Islands group, often in small, scattered colonies rather than one large concentration.
Why is the Pitt shag considered Endangered?
This species has a small total population confined to a limited number of breeding sites within the Chatham Islands group, with numbers considered to be declining over time.
Why is the Pitt shag called a blue-eyed shag?
This species has a vivid ring of bare, blue-coloured skin around each eye, a feature shared with several closely related shag species collectively nicknamed blue-eyed shags.