LITTLE PIED CORMORANT

The little pied cormorant, little shag or kawaupaka (Microcarbo melanoleucos) is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the subantarctic. It is a small (56-58 cm long) short-billed (≈3 cm) cormorant usually black above and white below with a yellow bill and small crest, although a mostly black white-throated form predominates in New Zealand. Three subspecies are recognised. Until recently most authorities referred to this species as Phalacrocorax melanoleucos.

Here it is seen in the Darebin Parklands in Melbourne, Australia, in the suburbs, about 6.5 km NE of the CBD. It is a common visitor here and one can see it diving in the waterholes and then drying its plumage on tree branches in its characteristic pose. In the last photo it is joined by a noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), which is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, and is endemic to eastern and south-eastern Australia. 

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.