The New Zealand King Shag is a large cormorant restricted to the Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand. It dives for fish living near the sea floor.
It is black and white with large pink feet. Breeding adults develop yellow fleshy caruncles at the base of the bill. A cobalt-blue ring surrounds the eye. Juveniles have dull brown upperparts rather than black and pale bare facial skin.
It feeds mainly on bottom-dwelling fish and many foraging birds dive in water up to 50 m deep. Most breeding occurs in winter, with nests built on rock sites from sticks and seaweed.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.