- Cape Cormorant
Taxobox
name = Cape Cormorant
status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Pelecaniformes
familia =Phalacrocoracidae
genus = "Phalacrocorax "
species = "P. capensis"
binomial = "Phalacrocorax capensis"
binomial_authority = (Sparrman), 1788The Cape
Cormorant or CapeShag , "Phalacrocorax capensis", is a bird endemic to the southwestern coasts ofAfrica .It breeds from
Namibia south to southernCape Province . In the nonbreeding season, it may be found as far north as the mouth of the Congo, and also extends up the east coast of South Africa as far asMozambique . In the 1970s, the breeding population was estimated as over 1 million in Namibia alone. However, theIUCN now classifies it as "Near Threatened" on the grounds of: ongoing pollution from oil slicks, disturbance to stocks of its prey, and pathogen or parasite increases.The Cape Cormorant is an almost entirely glossy black bird, though in breeding condition it has a purplish tinge and a few white plumes on head, neck, and
cloaca l areas. Itsgular skin is a deep orangey yellow; unusually for a cormorant, its lores are feathered. The bird's wing is about 240-280 mm in extent, and it weighs 800-1600 grams, with littlesexual dimorphism .Cape Shags commonly forage in flocks, taking schooling fish from mid-water, such as
pilchard s, anchovies, andsandeel s. Its prey are typically much smaller than those of the sympatricBank Cormorant . Their major predators areBlack-Backed Jackal s, which take the occasional adult while it is roosting, and nest-site predators such asGreat Cormorant s, EasternWhite Pelican s, andKelp Gull s.Like a number of other related cormorant species, the Cape Cormorant is placed by some authorities (e.g. Johnsgaard) in the genus "
Leucocarbo ".References
*IUCN 2006. "2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 30 June 2006.
*Johnsgaard, P. A. (1993). "Cormorants, darters, and pelicans of the world". Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 1-56098-216-0External links
* [http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/stats/adu/species/capecormorant.htm Cape Cormorant page] from the
University of Cape Town
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