Phalacrocorax gaimardi
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The red-legged cormorant (Poikilocarbo gaimardi), also known as the red-legged shag, red-footed cormorant, red-footed shag, Gaimard's cormorant and grey cormorant, is a species of cormorant resident to the coastline of South America. It is the only member of the genus Poikilocarbo. It is non-colonial unlike most seabirds. The red-legged cormorant has not been observed wing-spreading, which is unusual among cormorant species.
The red-legged cormorant was traditionally placed within the genus Phalacrocorax, but this assignment has been contested in recent years. Some phylogenetic studies have suggested that this species should be placed within Notocarbo, finding it to be most closely related to other southern-hemisphere shags, such as the spotted shag. A 2014 study found it to represent the second most basal genus of cormorant, with only Microcarbo being more basal, and thus reclassified into the genus Poikilocarbo. This classification was followed by the IOC in 2021. It has been suggested that the population of red-legged cormorants on the Atlantic coast are a separate subspecies. They are slightly smaller and have marginally paler plumage compared to the birds of the...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paracas National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 2 | Pan de Azúcar National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lima | 🇵🇪 Peru |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Red-legged Cormorant sighting in Paracas National Reserve on a given day, based on 382 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 84 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.
May
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Red-legged Cormorant in Paracas National Reserve on a given day, against about 20% in January, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-legged 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.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Red-legged Cormorant sightings, Paracas National Reserve has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Pan de Azúcar National Park (Chile, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-legged Cormorant is recorded against all the birds logged in Paracas National Reserve (382 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.
