Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Suliformes > Phalacrocoracidae > Phalacrocorax > Phalacrocorax capensis

Phalacrocorax capensis (Cape cormorant)

Synonyms: Pelecanus capensis (homotypic)

Wikipedia Abstract

The Cape cormorant or Cape shag (Phalacrocorax capensis) is a bird endemic to the southwestern coasts of Africa. It breeds from Namibia south to southern Cape Province. In the nonbreeding season, it may be found as far north as the mouth of the Congo, and also extends up the east coast of South Africa as far as Mozambique. In the 1970s, the breeding population was estimated as over 1 million in Namibia alone. However, the IUCN now classifies it as "Endangered" due to a very rapid decline in the population over the last three generations.
View Wikipedia Record: Phalacrocorax capensis

Endangered Species

Status: Endangered
View IUCN Record: Phalacrocorax capensis

EDGE Analysis

Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) 
3
 Unique (100)
Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) 
31
 Unique & Vulnerable (100)
ED Score: 7.1522
EDGE Score: 2.79144
Learn more at EDGE of Existence programme

Attributes

Adult Weight [1]  2.624 lbs (1.19 kg)
Birth Weight [2]  45 grams
Female Weight [4]  2.434 lbs (1.104 kg)
Male Weight [4]  2.932 lbs (1.33 kg)
Weight Dimorphism [4]  20.5 %
Diet [3]  Carnivore (Invertebrates), Piscivore
Diet - Fish [3]  80 %
Diet - Invertibrates [3]  20 %
Forages - Underwater [3]  100 %
Clutch Size [2]  2
Clutches / Year [1]  1
Egg Length [1]  2.165 inches (55 mm)
Egg Width [1]  1.378 inches (35 mm)
Fledging [1]  63 days
Incubation [5]  25 days
Mating Display [2]  Ground display
Mating System [2]  Monogamy
Wing Span [5]  3.575 feet (1.09 m)

Ecoregions

Protected Areas

Important Bird Areas

Biodiversity Hotspots

Name Location Endemic Species Website
Cape Floristic Region South Africa No
Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland No
Succulent Karoo Namibia, South Africa No

Prey / Diet

Prey / Diet Overlap

Competing SpeciesCommon Prey Count
Lichia amia (leer fish)1
Morus capensis (Cape Gannet)2
Phalacrocorax neglectus (Bank Cormorant)1
Puffinus griseus (Sooty Shearwater)2
Spheniscus demersus (Jackass Penguin)3

Predators

Canis mesomelas (Black-backed Jackal)[7]

Range Map

External References

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Nathan P. Myhrvold, Elita Baldridge, Benjamin Chan, Dhileep Sivam, Daniel L. Freeman, and S. K. Morgan Ernest. 2015. An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96:3109
♦ 2Terje Lislevand, Jordi Figuerola, and Tamás Székely. 2007. Avian body sizes in relation to fecundity, mating system, display behavior, and resource sharing. Ecology 88:1605
♦ 3Hamish Wilman, Jonathan Belmaker, Jennifer Simpson, Carolina de la Rosa, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, and Walter Jetz. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027
♦ 4Johnsgard, PA 1993. Cormorants, Darters, and Pelicans of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC
♦ 5del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
♦ 6SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PATTERNS OF DIET IN THE CAPE CORMORANT OFF SOUTHERN AFRICA, DAVID CAMERON DUFFY, RORY PAUL WILSON, AND MARIE PIERRE WILSON, The Condor 89:830-834 (1987)
♦ 7Canis mesomelas, Lyle R. Walton and Damien O. Joly, MAMMALIAN SPECIES No. 715, pp. 1–9 (2003)
Ecoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 Wildfinder Database
Biodiversity Hotspots provided by Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0