Pied Cormorant subspecies

[ianscott]

Good day. My name is Ian an I have only been bird watching since December 2024. I am hooked and enjoying every minute of it. This week I visited Motunau Beach, hoping to photograph a Black-fronted Tern. I heard a load group of birds high in some Macrocarpa Trees. It turned out to be a colony of Pied Cormorants. There where at least 15 birds and 10 nests that I could see. Apparently they only make a noise when in the colony. I was approached by a gentleman who told me this was a unique sub-species of Cormorant only found in two colonies in the local area. A search on line found no corroboration for this. I wonder if anyone has any knowledge of this.

Thanks

[Neil Fitzgerald]

Hello Ian, and welcome. There are two recognised subspecies; one in New Zealand and one in Australia. The gentleman who told you otherwise was perhaps mistaken about the distribution of the subspecies.

[SomesBirder]

Some people use the term "subspecies" without understanding what it means; often for referring to different species that share a genus. I suggest that the gentleman thought that there is only one species of cormorant overall, with the pied cormorant being a "subspecies" of that cormorant.

[ianscott]

Thanks All, They just looked like Pied Cormorants to me but he was quite certain so I thought I better check.

[andrewcrossland]

The man was mistaken - its just Pied Cormorants at Motonau.