Pitt Shag

Open encyclopedia reference

The Pitt shag (Phalacrocorax featherstoni), also known as the Pitt Island shag or Featherstone's shag, is a species of bird in the family Phalacrocoracidae. It is endemic to Pitt Island where its natural habitats are open seas and rocky shores. The bird with the color of a dark body, gray chest, yellow eyes and feet can be found in small groups in their breeding habitat or alone within 18 km from their territory searching for food. The species was close to extinction in 1905 but actions of conservation have been done ever since. The Pitt shag is threatened by habitat loss due to predation and climate change causing a decline from 1997 to 2012, but there is a recovery plan by the Department of Conservation.

Wikipedia contributors, Pitt shag; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:46:54.539834+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Phalacrocorax featherstoni Buller, 1873

Name authority

Buller, 1873

Common name

Pitt Shag

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Suliformes

Family

Phalacrocoracidae

Genus

Phalacrocorax

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderSuliformes
10. familyPhalacrocoracidae Reichenbach, 1849
11. genusPhalacrocorax Brisson, 1760
12. speciesPhalacrocorax featherstoni Buller, 1873

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Phalacrocorax. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 28 records assigned to Phalacrocoracidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Buller, Walter L. (1873). Description of a new Species of Cormorant from the Chatham Islands. Ibis, Vol. 3, No. 9. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:4FQQH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.