wildlife animals of little pied comorant photos

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The Little Pied Cormorant, Little Shag or Kawaupaka (Microcarbo melanoleucos) is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Indonesia 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.This bird is a small cormorant measuring 56–58 cm (22–23 in) with a shorter 3 cm (1.25 in) bill and longer tail than the Little Black Cormorant; it has a small black crest.The entire plumage is black with a greenish tinge except for the sides of the head, chin, throat and upper neck; the bill is yellow with black on top.The pied form is glossy black above with white face, underparts and thighs. The bill and bare skin around the face are yellow. In both forms the legs and feet are black.Chicks have dark brown down, with pied morph having patches of paler down. Immature birds are a dull blackish brown, with pied morph birds having paler underparts.The Little Pied Cormorant makes a low cooing during courtship.

The Little Pied Cormorant is a benthic feeder, i.e. it finds its prey on the sea floor. It is a solitary feeder, normally diving in relatively shallow water, often near the shore. Dive times are short, around 15 to 20 seconds, with recovery times on the surface of 5 to 10 seconds unless prey are being swallowed. It takes a variety of fish prey but an unusually high proportion (nearly 30% by weight on average, and up to 80% in some individuals) of crustaceans. In New Zealand waters it is most often seen preying on the local flounder and other small flatfish. Eels and insect larvae are also consumed. These are brought to the surface to be swallowed: the bird will sometimes put a fish down on the surface of the water in order to re-orient it and swallow it head first. Because of this habit, they suffer some kleptoparasitism from Red-billed Gulls.The breeding occurs once a year in spring or early summer in southern areas of its range (southern Australia and New Zealand), and after the monsoon in tropical regions. The nest is a platform built of branches and sticks, often still green with leaves in the forks of trees, usually eucalypts that are standing in water. Nests are often located near other waterbirds such as other cormorants, herons, ibis or spoonbills. Four or five pale blue oval eggs measuring 46 x 31 mm are laid. The eggs are covered with a thin layer of lime, giving them a matte white coated appearance. They become increasingly stained with feces, as does the nest, over the duration of the breeding season.for more pics....