CreatureData

Macquarie shag

Leucocarbo purpurascens (J. F. Brandt, 1837)

Status not recordedbirds

The macquarie shag (Leucocarbo purpurascens) is a species in the family Phalacrocoracidae, order Suliformes. Recorded adults weigh 2.44 kg to 2.86 kg and live up to 13 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia.

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Quick facts about the macquarie shag

Weight
2.44 kg – 2.86 kg
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
13 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Egg incubation
29 days
Young per litter or clutch
2.62
Litters or clutches a year
1
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

Where does the macquarie shag live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The macquarie shag is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Why a country list is not a range map

Is the macquarie shag endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the macquarie shag classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderSuliformes
  5. familyPhalacrocoracidae
  6. genusLeucocarbo
  7. SpeciesLeucocarbo purpurascens (J. F. Brandt, 1837)

Synonyms Carbo purpurascens, Leucocarbo albiventer purpurascens, Leucocarbo atriceps purpurascens, Phalacrocorax atriceps purpurascens

Other names and names in other languages (27)
  • corb marí de l'illa MacquireCatalan
  • kormorán macquarijskýCzech
  • MacquarieskarvDanish
  • MacquariescharbeGerman
  • makvora kormoranoEsperanto
  • Cormorán de la MacquarieSpanish
  • Macquarie kormoranEstonian
  • باکلان مککواریPersian
  • Cormoran pourpréFrench
  • Cormorano delle MacquarieItalian
  • マッコーリーヒメウJapanese
  • makvorinis kormoranasLithuanian
  • MacquarieaalscholverDutch
  • flekkfotskarvNorwegian
  • kormoran wspaniałyPolish
  • Biguá-da-macquariePortuguese
  • Маккуорийский бакланRussian
  • kormorán pôvabnýSlovak
  • Macquarie Adası KarabatağıTurkish
  • баклан макварійськийUkrainian
  • 麦岛鸬鹚Chinese
  • Corb marí de l'illa de MacquarieCatalan
  • macquarie kormoran (macquarie karbas)Estonian
  • Cormoran de MacquarieFrench
  • corvo-marinho-da-macquariePortuguese
  • corvo-marinho-de-macquariePortuguese
  • 麥夸利鸕鷀Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the macquarie shag

Other species in the same genus Leucocarbo.

LC, Least Concern
Imperial shag (Leucocarbo atriceps)

Imperial shag

Leucocarbo atriceps

Phalacrocoracidae

VU, Vulnerable
Bounty shag (Leucocarbo ranfurlyi)

Bounty shag

Leucocarbo ranfurlyi

Phalacrocoracidae

LC, Least Concern
Rock shag (Leucocarbo magellanicus)

Rock shag

Leucocarbo magellanicus

Phalacrocoracidae

CompareMacquarie shag vs Imperial shagMacquarie shag vs Guanay cormorantMacquarie shag vs Bounty shagMacquarie shag vs New Zealand king shag

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the macquarie shag?

An adult macquarie shag weighs 2.44 kg – 2.86 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the macquarie shag live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the macquarie shag for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

How long does the macquarie shag live?

The macquarie shag has a recorded lifespan of 13 years.

What kind of animal is the macquarie shag?

The macquarie shag (Leucocarbo purpurascens) belongs to the family Phalacrocoracidae in the order Suliformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Macquarie shag (Leucocarbo purpurascens). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/macquarie-shag

MLA

“Macquarie shag (Leucocarbo purpurascens).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/macquarie-shag.

BibTeX
@misc{macquarie_shag_2026,
  title = {Macquarie shag (Leucocarbo purpurascens)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/macquarie-shag},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}