Phalascrocorax aristotelis
posted by sooyup
on
Daily trivia
This is a picture of a shag. Not to be confused, despite the rhyme, with the common cormorant. Nor does it lay its eggs in a paper bag, as we have been led to believe. I well remember my first sighting of a shag. I was bird-watching on the sand-dunes at Formby and came across a couple so engrossed in their flamboyant courting ritual that I was able to observe them for a full half hour. I couldn’t wait to tell my bird-watching buddy KC of the spectacle I had witnessed, and he insisted on hearing every detail before going to see for himself. Alas, by then the birds had flown and there was not a shag to be seen. The courtship ritual of the shag is a delight to behold, and our Blogging friend Lapis Ruber has a fine collection of videos of shags at the seaside. [Watch one of them here.] Let’s declare 2009 the Year of the Shag. Get to the beach, twitchers, and keep your eyes peeled. They’re out there, and you may be lucky. One thing I can guarantee, you’ll never forget your first shag.
This is a picture of a shag. Not to be confused, despite the rhyme, with the common cormorant. Nor does it lay its eggs in a paper bag, as we have been led to believe. I well remember my first sighting of a shag. I was bird-watching on the sand-dunes at Formby and came across a couple so engrossed in their flamboyant courting ritual that I was able to observe them for a full half hour. I couldn’t wait to tell my bird-watching buddy KC of the spectacle I had witnessed, and he insisted on hearing every detail before going to see for himself. Alas, by then the birds had flown and there was not a shag to be seen. The courtship ritual of the shag is a delight to behold, and our Blogging friend Lapis Ruber has a fine collection of videos of shags at the seaside. [Watch one of them here.] Let’s declare 2009 the Year of the Shag. Get to the beach, twitchers, and keep your eyes peeled. They’re out there, and you may be lucky. One thing I can guarantee, you’ll never forget your first shag.
