---
title: "Imperial Shag"
description: "Leucocarbo atriceps — Uccelli. The imperial shag or imperial cormorant (Leucocarbo atriceps) is a black-and-white cormorant native to southern South America, islands of the Subantarctic, and the Antarctic Peninsula, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/imperial-shag
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Imperial Shag

> Leucocarbo atriceps — Uccelli. The imperial shag or imperial cormorant (Leucocarbo atriceps) is a black-and-white cormorant native to southern South America, islands of the Subantarctic, and the Antarctic Peninsula, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes.

- Scientific name: *Leucocarbo atriceps*
- Category: `birds` (Uccelli)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mare e costa), `arctic` (Artico)
- iNaturalist observations: 5391
- Wikidata: [Q12262259](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12262259)
- iNaturalist taxon: [1289591](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1289591)

## Names

- en: Imperial Shag
- de: Blauaugenscharbe
- es: Cormorán imperial
- fr: Cormoran impérial
- nl: Keizeraalscholver
- pt: Biguá-imperial
- pl: Kormoran niebieskooki

## Countries with the most observations

CL (1692), AR (1325), FK (287), TF (271), GS (180), AU (45), UY (11), HM (4)

## Summary

The imperial shag or imperial cormorant (Leucocarbo atriceps) is a black-and-white cormorant native to southern South America, islands of the Subantarctic, and the Antarctic Peninsula, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes. Some taxonomic authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union, place it in the genus Leucocarbo, others in the genus Phalacrocorax. It is also known as the blue-eyed shag, blue-eyed cormorant and by many other names, and is one of a larger group of cormorants called blue-eyed shags. The taxonomy is complex, and several types are treated as either…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_shag

## Photo

![Imperial Shag](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/imperial-shag/medium.jpg)

Photo: Kyle Bowman · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/339297167

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/imperial-shag?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).