Little Pied Cormorant
Microcarbo melanoleucos
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderSuliformes
- FamilyPhalacrocoracidae (Corbs marins)
- GenusMicrocarbo (Lesser Cormorants)
- SpeciesMicrocarbo melanoleucos (Little Pied Cormorant)
The little pied cormorant, little shag or little pied shag (Microcarbo melanoleucos) (Māori: kawaupaka) is a common species of Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Timor-Leste and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the subantarctic. It is a small short-billed cormorant usually black above and white below with a yellow bill and small crest, although a mostly black white-throated form predominates in New Zealand. Three subspecies are recognised. Until recently, most authorities referred to this species as Phalacrocorax melanoleucos. Wikipedia →
<5% of wildlife watchers report a Little Pied Cormorant sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park, based on 7 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Ningaloo Marine Park
Australian Pied Cormorant
Phalacrocorax varius
Little Black Cormorant
Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carbo
Australasian Gannet
Morus serrator
Brown Booby
Sula leucogaster
Australian Darter
Anhinga novaehollandiae
Lesser Frigatebird
Fregata ariel
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Little Pied Cormorant in Ningaloo Marine Park?
About 2% of wildlife watchers report a Little Pied Cormorant sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park, based on 7 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Little Pied Cormorant in Ningaloo Marine Park?
December has the highest sighting rate for Little Pied Cormorant in Ningaloo Marine Park in our monthly data.