Microcarbo melanoleucos
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The little pied cormorant, little shag or little pied shag (Microcarbo melanoleucos) (Māori: kawaupaka) is a common species of Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Timor-Leste and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the subantarctic. It is a small short-billed cormorant usually black above and white below with a yellow bill and small crest, although a mostly black white-throated form predominates in New Zealand. Three subspecies are recognised. Until recently, most authorities referred to this species as Phalacrocorax melanoleucos.
The species is known as the little pied cormorant in Australia, and as the little shag or by the Māori name of kawaupaka in New Zealand. The term white-throated shag is also reserved for the melanistic form there. The little pied cormorant was originally described by French naturalist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1817. In 1931, American ornithologist James Lee Peters was the first to consider this in a separate genus along with the pygmy cormorant (M. pygmaeus), little cormorant (M. niger), and the long-tailed cormorant (M. africanus... Wikipedia →
Begging call0:45
Australia · 2023
© nick talbot · XC794988 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:48
Australia · 2019
© deborod · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:28
Australia · 2025
Rosalie Lawrence · iNaturalist · CC0
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Tierpark Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Australia Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Melbourne Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Adelaide Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Willowbank Wildlife Reserve | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 8 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Bali Bird Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 10 | Bioparc Fuengirola | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 12 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 13 | Snakeroom Serpentarium | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Little Pied Cormorant sighting in Kakadu National Park on a given day, based on 798 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 186 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Little Pied Cormorant in Kakadu National Park on a given day, against about 20% in April, the lowest month. That is one of Kakadu National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 350 mm in January. February has too few records to rate.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Little Pied Cormorant sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 27 parks where we can rate Little Pied Cormorant sightings, Kakadu National Park ranks 2nd at about 50%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Daintree National Park (Australia, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Little Pied Cormorant is recorded against all the birds logged in Kakadu National Park (798 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
