Guanay Cormorant

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iGuanay Cormorant

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Phalacrocoracidae
Genus: Phalacrocorax
Species: P. bougainvillii
Binomial name
Phalacrocorax bougainvillii
(Lesson, 1837)

The Guanay Cormorant or Guanay Shag, Phalacrocorax bougainvillii is a member of the cormorant family found in South America. It is a resident bird living on the pacific coast of Peru and northern Chile. The former Argentinian population on the Patagonian Atlantic coast appears to be extinct. After breeding it spreads north to Ecuador and southern parts of Chile. It 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 sea-water and rocky shores.

The Guanay Cormorant is similar in coloration to the Rock Cormorant, Phalacrocorax magellanicus but larger, measuring 78 cm from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail. Its bill is greyish with some red at the base. The face is red with a green eyering. It has roseate feet. Head, neck and back are black as are the outer parts of the thighs. The throat patch, breast and belly are white. In breeding plumage it has a few white feathers on the sides of head and neck.

Breeding occurs year round with a peak in November/December. The nest made of guano is build on flat surfaces on offshore islands or remote headlands. There are up to 3 nests per square meter in high density colonies. The Guanay Cormorant lays two or three eggs of approximately 63x40mm in size.

It feeds mainly on the Peruvian anchoveta, Engraulis ringens and the Peruvian silverside Odontesthes regia which thrive in the cold Humboldt Current. The Guanay Cormorant is the main producer of guano.

Habitat loss/degradation and over-fishing have resulted in a steady decline of the population of about 30% from an estimated figure of 3 Million birds in 1984. This species is listed as NT (near threatened) by IUCN.

The scientific name commemorates the French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville.

[edit] References

  • BirdLife International (2006). Phalacrocorax bougainvillii. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is near threatened
  • BirdLife International. Species factsheet: Phalacrocorax bougainvillii. Retrieved on 08 12, 2005.
  • Red List. Red List of Threatened Species, IUCN. Retrieved on 08 12, 2005.
  • de la Peña, Martín R.;Rumboll, Maurice (1998). Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica. London: HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 0-00-220077-5.
  • GROMS. Global Register of Migratory Species. Retrieved on 08 12, 2005.
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