Colony and nest site fidelity of the Rock Shag (Phalacrocorax magellanicus)

Abstract

The rock shag (Phalacrocorax magellanicus) is an endemic species from southern Argentina and Chile. In Argentina, the population is distributed along the Patagonian coast in 143 small colonies (5–377 pairs). We studied colony and nest site fidelity of rock shags at Punta Loma, Patagonia, Argentina. We banded 37 adults from December 2001 to June 2003, during two breeding and two non-breeding seasons. Nest site fidelity was extremely high during consecutive breeding and also non-breeding seasons. The high percentage of banded birds residing in the colony in consecutive seasons suggests that rock shags are highly faithful to breeding sites and supports the idea of low post-breeding dispersion.