CreatureData

Red-legged cormorant

Poikilocarbo gaimardi (Garnot, 1828)

NTNear Threatenedbirds

The red-legged cormorant (Poikilocarbo gaimardi) is a species in the family Phalacrocoracidae, order Suliformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.33 kg to 1.38 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.

Red-legged cormorant (Poikilocarbo gaimardi)
Photo: Josue Hermoza · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the red-legged cormorant

Weight
1.33 kg – 1.38 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the red-legged cormorant live?

Not recorded

What is the red-legged cormorant?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The red-legged cormorant (Poikilocarbo gaimardi), also known as the red-legged shag, red-footed cormorant, red-footed shag, Gaimard's cormorant and grey cormorant, is a species of cormorant resident to the coastline of South America. It is the only member of the genus Poikilocarbo. It is non-colonial unlike most seabirds. The red-legged cormorant has not been observed wing-spreading, which is unusual among cormorant species.

From the Wikipedia article “Red-legged cormorant” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red-legged_cormorant&oldid=1325900129), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the red-legged cormorant endangered?

The red-legged cormorant is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species. What the categories mean.

How is the red-legged cormorant classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderSuliformes
  5. familyPhalacrocoracidae
  6. genusPoikilocarbo
  7. SpeciesPoikilocarbo gaimardi (Garnot, 1828)

Synonyms Carbo gaimardi, Leucocarbo gaimardi, Pelecanus gaimardi, Phalacrocorax cirriger, Phalacrocorax gaimardi, Phalacrocorax gaimardi gaimardi, Stictocarbo gaimardi

Other names and names in other languages (37)
  • Red-legged shagEnglish
  • غاق ذو الأرجل الحمراءArabic
  • corb marí cama-roigCatalan
  • Corb marí de GaimardCatalan
  • kormorán rudonohýCzech
  • PerleskarvDanish
  • BuntscharbeGerman
  • ruĝkrura kormoranoEsperanto
  • ChuitaSpanish
  • Cormorán chuitaSpanish
  • Cormorán de GaimardSpanish
  • Cormorán grisSpanish
  • Cormorán LileSpanish
  • LileSpanish
  • Laikkael-kormoranEstonian
  • laikkael-kormoran (laikkael-karbas)Estonian
  • باکلان پاقرمزPersian
  • harmaamerimetsoFinnish
  • Cormoran de GaimardFrench
  • pjegavi vranacCroatian
  • vöröslábú kárókatonaHungarian
  • Cormorano zamperosseItalian
  • サカツラウJapanese
  • raudonkojis kormoranasLithuanian
  • RoodpootaalscholverDutch
  • rødfotskarvNorwegian
  • kormoran czerwononogiPolish
  • biguá-de-pernas-vermelhasPortuguese
  • corvo-marinho-de-patas-vermelhasPortuguese
  • Красноногий бакланRussian
  • kormorán sivýSlovak
  • Crvenonogi vranacSerbian
  • rödfotad skarvSwedish
  • Gri KarabatakTurkish
  • баклан червононогийUkrainian
  • 紅腿鸕鷀Chinese
  • 红腿鸬鹚Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the red-legged cormorant

Other species in the same family Phalacrocoracidae.

LC, Least Concern
European shag (Gulosus aristotelis)

European shag

Gulosus aristotelis

Phalacrocoracidae

CompareRed-legged cormorant vs Great cormorantRed-legged cormorant vs Pygmy cormorantRed-legged cormorant vs European shagRed-legged cormorant vs Little cormorant

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the red-legged cormorant?

An adult red-legged cormorant weighs 1.33 kg – 1.38 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the red-legged cormorant endangered?

The red-legged cormorant is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.

What kind of animal is the red-legged cormorant?

The red-legged cormorant (Poikilocarbo gaimardi) 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). Red-legged cormorant (Poikilocarbo gaimardi). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-legged-cormorant

MLA

“Red-legged cormorant (Poikilocarbo gaimardi).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-legged-cormorant.

BibTeX
@misc{red_legged_cormorant_2026,
  title = {Red-legged cormorant (Poikilocarbo gaimardi)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-legged-cormorant},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}