Microcarbo | |
---|---|
Little pied cormorant Microcarbo melanoleucos | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Suliformes |
Family: | Phalacrocoracidae |
Genus: | Microcarbo Bonaparte, 1856 |
Type species | |
Pelecanus pygmaeus (pygmy cormorant) Pallas, 1773 | |
Species | |
See text | |
Synonyms | |
Nanocorax (in part) |
Microcarbo is a genus of fish-eating birds, known as cormorants, of the family Phalacrocoracidae. The genus was formerly subsumed within Phalacrocorax .
Microcarbo has been recognized as a valid genus by the IOC's World Bird List [1] on the basis of work by Siegel-Causey (1988), Kennedy et al. (2000), and Christidis and Boles (2008).
As suggested by the name, this genus contains the smallest of the world's cormorants. It is also the most basal, having diverged from the rest of the family between 12.8 to 15.4 million years ago. [2]
The genus Microcarbo was introduced in 1856 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte with the pygmy cormorant as the type species. [3] [4] The name combines the Ancient Greek mikros meaning "small" with the genus name Carbo that was introduced by Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1789. [5]
The genus contains five species. [1]
Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|
Microcarbo coronatus | Crowned cormorant | Cape Agulhas north to Swakopmund along the coast of southern Africa | |
Microcarbo niger | Little cormorant | Indian Subcontinent east to Java | |
Microcarbo melanoleucos | Little pied cormorant | New Zealand, from Stewart Island to Northland, mainland Australia, Tasmania and Indonesia | |
Microcarbo pygmaeus | Pygmy cormorant | south-east of Europe (east of Italy) and south-west of Asia, in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan | |
Microcarbo africanus | Reed cormorant | Africa south of the Sahara, and Madagascar | |
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven genera. The great cormorant and the common shag are the only two species of the family commonly encountered in Britain and Ireland and "cormorant" and "shag" appellations have been later assigned to different species in the family somewhat haphazardly.
Phalacrocorax is a genus of fish-eating birds in the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. Members of this genus are also known as the Old World cormorants.
The pelagic cormorant, also known as Baird's cormorant or violet-green cormorant, is a small member of the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. Analogous to other smallish cormorants, it is also called the pelagic shag occasionally. This seabird lives along the coasts of the northern Pacific; during winter it can also be found in the open ocean. Pelagic cormorants have relatively short wings due to their need for economical movement underwater, and consequently have the highest flight costs of any bird.
The typical warblers are small birds belonging to the genus Sylvia in the "Old World warbler" family Sylviidae.
Cyanoramphus is a genus of parakeets native to New Zealand and islands of the southern Pacific Ocean. The New Zealand forms are often referred to as kākāriki. They are small to medium-sized parakeets with long tails and predominantly green plumage. Most species are forest species, although several of the subantarctic species live in open grassland. The genus formerly had a disjunct distribution, with two species found in the Society Islands and the majority of the genus ranging from New Caledonia to Macquarie Island, but absent from the 4,100 km (2,500 mi) in between. Despite many fossil birds being found in the islands between these two areas being found none of these were of undescribed Cyanoramphus species.
The reed cormorant, also known as the long-tailed cormorant, is a bird in the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. It breeds in much of Africa south of the Sahara, and Madagascar. It is resident but undertakes some seasonal movements.
The Indian cormorant or Indian shag is a member of the cormorant family. It is found mainly along the inland waters of the Indian Subcontinent but extending west to Sind and east to Thailand and Cambodia. It is a gregarious species that can be easily distinguished from the similar sized little cormorant by its blue eye, small head with a sloping forehead and a long narrow bill ending in a hooked tip.
Nannopterum is a genus of cormorant comprising three species. They are found throughout the Americas, hence the common name American cormorants.
The little black cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It is common in smaller rivers and lakes throughout most areas of Australia and northern New Zealand, where it is known as the little black shag. It is around sixty centimetres long, and is all black with blue-green eyes.
The red-faced cormorant, red-faced shag or violet shag, is a bird species of the family Phalacrocoracidae.
The rock shag, also known as the Magellanic cormorant, is a marine cormorant found around the southernmost coasts of South America. Its breeding range is from around Valdivia, Chile, south to Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego, and north to Punta Tombo in Argentina. In winter it is seen further north, with individuals reaching as far as Santiago, Chile on the west coast and Uruguay on the east. The birds also breed around the coasts of the Falkland Islands.
The New Zealand king shag, also known as the rough-faced shag, king shag or kawau, is a rare bird endemic to New Zealand. Some taxonomic authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union, place this species in the genus Leucocarbo. Others place it in the genus Phalacrocorax.
Leucocarbo is a genus of birds in the family Phalacrocoracidae with the members commonly known as blue-eyed shags. This is a group of closely related cormorant taxa. Many have a blue, purple or red ring around the eye ; other shared features are white underparts and pink feet.
The yellow-bellied flyrobin is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. It is the only species in the genus Cryptomicroeca. The yellow-bellied flyrobin is endemic to New Caledonia, where it occurs on the island of Grande Terre. It occupies a range of habitats, including dry lowlands, woodland, Pinus and Pandanus forest, and humid forest from sea level up to 1,525 m (5,000 ft).
Melopyrrha is a genus of passerine birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is made up of four extant species endemic to the Greater Antilles, along with 1 possibly extinct species from the island of Saint Kitts in the Lesser Antilles.
The Cuban grassquit is a small bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is endemic to Cuba.
The grey noddy or grey ternlet is a seabird belonging to the family Laridae. It was once regarded as a pale morph of the blue noddy but is now usually considered to be a separate species.
The order Suliformes is an order recognised by the International Ornithologist's Union. In regard to the recent evidence that the traditional Pelecaniformes is polyphyletic, it has been suggested that the group be divided to reflect the true evolutionary relationships, a 2017 study indicated that they are most closely related to Otidiformes (bustards) and Ciconiiformes (storks).
Geospizopsis is a genus of seed-eating birds in the tanager family Thraupidae that are commonly known as sierra finches.
Urile is a genus of birds in the family Phalacrocoracidae, commonly known as North Pacific cormorants. It contains 3 extant and 1 recently extinct species, all of which are or were found in the North Pacific Ocean.