Leucocarbo bougainvilliorum
Silhouette: Juan Carlos Jerí · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The guanay cormorant or guanay shag (Leucocarbo bougainvilliorum) is a member of the cormorant family found on the Pacific coast of Peru and northern Chile. After breeding it spreads south to southern parts of Chile and north to Ecuador, and has also been recorded as far north as Panama and Colombia, probably a result of mass dispersal due to food shortage in El Niño years. Its major habitats include shallow seawater and rocky shores. A former population on the Patagonian Atlantic coast of Argentina appears to be extinct.
Most taxonomic authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union, place this species in the genus Leucocarbo. In the past, it was usually placed in a broad circumscription of the genus Phalacrocorax, and some authors still follow this. The scientific name commemorates the French naval officers Louis Antoine de Bougainville and his son Hyacinthe de Bougainville; the species epithet was corrected from the original bougainvillii to the plural spelling bougainvilliorum ("of the Bougainvilles") in 2020 to reflect this dual honoring.
The guanay cormorant is similar in plumage to the rock shag Leucocarbo magellanicus, but is...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paracas National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Pan de Azúcar National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 3 | Machalilla National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lima | 🇵🇪 Peru |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Guanay Cormorant sighting in Pan de Azúcar National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 20 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Guanay Cormorant sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Guanay Cormorant sightings, Pan de Azúcar National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Paracas National Reserve (Peru, about 50%).
Same family: Phalacrocoracidae
The closest relatives of the Guanay Cormorant that you can see in Pan de Azúcar National Park (family Phalacrocoracidae, Cormorants and Shags) are Bigua cormorant (about 30%) and Red-legged Cormorant (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Guanay Cormorant is recorded against all the birds logged in Pan de Azúcar National Park (6 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.
