Magellanic Cormorant

The Rock Shag (Phalacrocorax Magellanicus), also known as the Magellanic Cormorant, is a marine cormorant that can be found in the southern coasts of Argentina and Chile, including Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands.

The black feathers on the head and neck are tinged with a metallic blue or green sheen, the upper back and wings are dark, with a deep green gloss and black markings on the feathers, while the lower back is blue-black with many white filoplumes. The underparts and throat are white. The rock shag has distinctive brick-red eyes, with a bright red orbital ring (the ring of skin around the eyes) and a red face.

Better adapted to swimming than flight, the rock shag has powerful webbed feet, dense bones and very little body fat, making it an astonishingly agile predator. Like all cormorants, the rock shag feeds by diving for underwater prey. It feeds close to shore, often diving at the edge of kelp beds and apparently finding small fish.
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