European shag

Scientific name: Phalacrocorax aristotelis

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

A sleek, dark metallic-green to black cormorant with a distinctive shaggy crest on the crown (especially pronounced in breeding plumage). The species has a long, kinked neck, yellow-green facial skin, and bright yellow gape; smaller and more slender than great cormorants.

Size and weight

Adults weigh 0.7–1.0 kg; body length 65–76 cm. Males are marginally larger and more robust than females, with more prominent crests during breeding.

Habitat

European shags inhabit rocky coastal cliffs, sea stacks, and boulder-strewn shorelines with access to deep water. They favour areas with strong tidal currents and minimal human disturbance, typically at or near sea level.

Distribution

Found along Atlantic coasts from Norway to Iberia and throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas. They prefer rocky, exposed coastlines and are absent from sandy or heavily silted bays.

Diet

Primarily small fish (sandeels, gobies, wrasse, and other demersal species), hunted by underwater pursuit; diet varies seasonally with local prey availability and water temperature.

Behaviour

Diurnal, highly gregarious birds that roost communally on rocks and breed in loose colonies. They spend daylight hours diving for fish in shallow to moderate depths, with frequent hauling-out on rocks between foraging bouts; relatively sedentary outside breeding season.

Hunting tips

Look for white guano streaks, feather moult, and worn rocks at roosting and nesting sites. Approach from landward using coastal terrain and rock outcrops as cover to avoid alerting the birds; glass cliff faces at dawn and dusk when birds are most mobile. Stalking requires patience and careful wind reading, as these birds are alert and quick to dive.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 1 country in Huntify.

Norway

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.