Story: Shags

Shags on a rock roost

Shags on a rock roost

A shag could be interpreted as a good or bad omen by Māori. The appearance of shags landing one by one on a rock in Lake Taupō was said to have preceded the death of the great chief Mananui Te Heu Heu Tūkino II, killed in a landslide in 1846. On this rock roost, three little black shags are perched behind a white-throated little shag.

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Department of Conservation
Reference: 10036489
Photograph by J. L. Kendrick

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How to cite this page:

Gerard Hutching, 'Shags - Black-footed shags', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/5405/shags-on-a-rock-roost (accessed 24 April 2024)

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 12 Jun 2006, reviewed & revised 11 Jul 2016