Spotted Shag Phalacrocorax punctatus

A slim, medium-sized, gray-blue marine shag with yellow-orange feet and a long, slender bill. Breeding plumage is elegant with bright green facial skin, blue eye-rings, and two curved thick white stripes that extend from each eye down to the side of the neck. Non-breeding plumage is duller with crests absent, diminished but still visible neck stripe, and yellowish facial skin. Immatures are paler and browner, lacking head or neck markings. Endemic to New Zealand, where it is mainly found in the coastal waters around the South Island and parts of the North Island. Distinguished from Pitt Island Shag by neck stripe and by the lack of a purple patch in front of the eye. Other similar shags that overlap have pink feet, not yellow.