NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Common Shag

The 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; in scientific literature it is usually called the European Shag. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1296x972, 346 KB) Phalacrocorax aristotelis - photo MPF At nest with well-grown chicks, Farne Islands, Northumberland, UK; 17 August 2005 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Common... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Many - see section below. ... Families Pelecanidae Sulidae Phalacrocoracidae Fregatidae Anhingidae Phaethontidae The Pelecaniformes are an order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. ... Genera Nannopterum Phalacrocorax Leucocarbo The Phalacrocoracidae family of birds is represented by over thirty species of cormorants and shags. ... Genera Nannopterum Phalacrocorax Leucocarbo The Phalacrocoracidae family of birds is represented by over thirty species of cormorants and shags. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as , (May 23, 1707 â€“ January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... Genera Nannopterum Phalacrocorax Leucocarbo The Phalacrocoracidae family of birds is represented by about thirty species of cormorants and shags. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ... // Long-distance land bird migration Many species of land migratory birds migrate very long distances, the most common pattern being for birds to breed in the temperate or arctic northern hemisphere and winter in warmer regions, often in the tropics or the temperate zones of the southern hemisphere. ... Seabirds are birds that spend much of their lives, outside the breeding season at least, at sea. ... Scientific literature is the totality of publications that report original empirical and theoretical work in the sciences and social sciences. ...

Common Shag in flight

This is a medium-large black bird, 68-78 cm long and with a 95-110 cm wingspan. It has a longish tail and yellow throat-patch. Adults have a small crest in the breeding season. It is distinguished from the Great Cormorant by its smaller size, lighter build, thinner bill, and, in breeding adults, by the crest and metallic green-tinged sheen on the feathers. Among those differences are that a shag has a lighter, narrower beak; and the juvenile shag has darker underparts. The Common Shag's tail has 12 feathers; the Great Cormorant, 14 feathers. The green sheen on the feathers results in the alternative name "Green Cormorant" sometimes being given to the Common Shag. European Shag in flight. ... European Shag in flight. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Binomial name Phalacrocorax carbo Linnaeus, 1758 The Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds. ... For other uses, see Feather (disambiguation). ...

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. Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus: one of the most abundant species of fish in the world. ...

The Shag is one of the deepest divers among the cormorant family. Using depth gauges, Shags have been shown to dive to at least 45 metres. Shags are preponderantly benthic feediers, 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. A Depth Gauge is a device used to measure pressure and display the equivalent depth in water. ... In marine geology and biology, benthos are the organisms and habitats of the sea floor; in freshwater biology they are the organisms and habitats of the bottoms of lakes, rivers, and creeks. ... Sand Eel or Sandeel is the common name used for a considerable number of species of fish. ...

In UK coastal waters, dive times are typically around 20-45 seconds, with a recovery time of around 15 seconds between dives; this is consistent with aerobic diving, i.e. the bird depends on the oxygen in its lungs and dissolved in its bloodstream during the dive. When they dive, they jump out of the water first to give extra impetus to the dive. General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... The lungs flank the heart and great vessels in the chest cavity. ... Human blood smear: a - erythrocytes; b - neutrophil; c - eosinophil; d - lymphocyte. ...

It breeds on coasts, nesting on rocky ledges or in crevices or small caves. The nests are untidy heaps of rotting seaweed or twigs cemented together by the bird's own guano. The nesting season is long, beginning in late February but some nests not starting until May or even later. Three eggs are laid. Their chicks hatch without down and so they rely totally on their parents for warmth, often for a period of two months before they can fly. Fledging may occur at any time from early June to late August, exceptionally to mid October. Seaweed-covered rocks in the UK Biologists, specifically Phycologists, consider seaweed to refer any of a large number of marine benthic algae that are multicellular, macrothallic, and thus differentiated from most algae that tend to be microscopic in size [1]. Seaweeds are usually types of brown or red algae that... The Chincha guano islands in Peru. ... An average Whooping Crane egg is 102 mm long, and weighs 208 grams In some animals, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ...

The name shag is also used in the Southern Hemisphere for several additional species of cormorants. Southern Hemisphere The Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planets surface (or celestial sphere) that is south of the equator (the word hemisphere literally means half ball). On Earth it contains five continents (Antarctica, Australia, most of South America, parts of Africa, and Asia) as well as four... Genera Nannopterum Phalacrocorax Leucocarbo The Phalacrocoracidae family of birds is represented by about thirty species of cormorants and shags. ...

There are three subspecies: In zoology, as in other branches of biology, subspecies is the rank immediately subordinate to a species. ...

Phalacrocorax aristotelis aristotelis - northwestern Europe (Atlantic Ocean coasts)
Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii - southern Europe, southwest Asia (Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea coasts)
Phalacrocorax aristotelis riggenbachi - northwest African coast

The subspecies differ slightly in bill size and the breast and leg colour of young birds. Recent evidence suggests that birds on the Atlantic coast of southwest Europe are distinct from all three, and may be an as-yet undescribed subspecies (Yésou et al., Brit. Birds 98: 369-370, 2005). Satellite image The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ... Map of the Black Sea. ... British Birds is an ornithology journal, founded in 1907. ...

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