The International Ornithological Congress (IOC) recognizes these 40 species of cormorants and shags which are distributed among seven genera. One species, spectacled cormorant (formerly called Pallas's cormorant), is extinct.
This list is presented according to the IOC taxonomic sequence and can also be sorted alphabetically by common name and binomial.
Common nameBinomial nameIOC sequencePygmy cormorantMicrocarbo pygmaeus1Reed cormorantMicrocarbo africanus2Crowned cormorantMicrocarbo coronatus3Little cormorantMicrocarbo niger4Little pied cormorantMicrocarbo melanoleucos5Red-legged cormorantPoikilocarbo gaimardi6Brandt's cormorantUrile penicillatus7Red-faced cormorantUrile urile8Pelagic cormorantUrile pelagicus9Spectacled cormorantUrile perspicillatus10Bank cormorantPhalacrocorax neglectus11Socotra cormorantPhalacrocorax nigrogularis12Pitt shagPhalacrocorax featherstoni13Spotted shagPhalacrocorax punctatus14Black-faced cormorantPhalacrocorax fuscescens15Australian pied cormorantPhalacrocorax varius16Little black cormorantPhalacrocorax sulcirostris17Indian cormorantPhalacrocorax fuscicollis18Cape cormorantPhalacrocorax capensis19Japanese cormorantPhalacrocorax capillatus20Great cormorantPhalacrocorax carbo21European shagGulosus aristotelis22Flightless cormorantNannopterum harrisi23Neotropic cormorantNannopterum brasilianum24Double-crested cormorantNannopterum auritum25Rock shagLeucocarbo magellanicus26Guanay cormorantLeucocarbo bougainvilliorum27Bounty shagLeucocarbo ranfurlyi28New Zealand king shagLeucocarbo carunculatus29Chatham Islands shagLeucocarbo onslowi30Stewart Island shagLeucocarbo chalconotus31Auckland shagLeucocarbo colensoi32Campbell shagLeucocarbo campbelli33Imperial shagLeucocarbo atriceps34South Georgia shagLeucocarbo georgianus35Crozet shagLeucocarbo melanogenis36Antarctic shagLeucocarbo bransfieldensis37Kerguelen shagLeucocarbo verrucosus38Heard Island shagLeucocarbo nivalis39Macquarie shagLeucocarbo purpurascens40
References