This is a very common and widespread bird species. It feeds on the sea, in estuaries, and on freshwater lakes and rivers. Northern birds migrate south and winter along any coast that is well-supplied with fish.

The type subspecies, P. c. carbo, is found mainly in Atlantic waters and nearby inland areas: on western European coasts and south to North Africa, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland; and on the eastern seaboard of North America, though in America it breeds only in the north of its range, in the Canadian maritime provinces. The subspecies found in Australasian waters, P. carbo novaehollandiae, has a crest. In New Zealand it is known as the Black Shag or by its Maori name; Kawau.

Click on the image to access the Great Cormorant gallery.

More information can be found on Wikipedia.

The European Shag or Common Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) is a species of cormorant. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, mainly wintering in its breeding range except for northernmost birds. In Britain this seabird is usually referred to as simply the Shag

It feeds in the sea, and, unlike the Great Cormorant, is rare inland. It will winter along any coast that is well-supplied with fish.

The European Shag is one of the deepest divers among the cormorant family. Using depth gauges, European Shags have been shown to dive to at least 45 metres. European Shags are preponderantly benthic feeders, i.e. they find their prey on the sea bottom. They will eat a wide range of fish but their commonest prey is the sand eel. Shags will travel many kilometres from their roosting sites in order to feed.

Click on the image to access the European Shag gallery.

More information can be found on Wikipedia.