BTO Bird ID - Cormorant and Shag 

you're really funny

lovely

Hi. The map shown at 1:02 is of winter distribution. You do occasionally get the odd Shag wandering inland, especially in poor winter weather. These are not breeding records.

A small number of Shags routinely appear on inland freshwater bodies in winter, from large reservoirs such as those in the Midlands to small lakes and even rivers. The map shows the birds that appeared inland during the four winter survey periods of Bird Atlas 2007-11, November-February 2007/08-2010/11. In a single winter, there would typically be fewer records than shown on this map.

I think they can stay underwater for around a minute, and I've seen them frequently raise their heads above water to take a breath and then continue hunting underwater. If they get tangled in a fishing net and can't raise their necks to take a breath then they will eventually drown, just like the rest of shorebirds

This is a video made by the British Trust for Ornithology, and is using the colloquial common names for the two species. Say 'cormorant' to any UK birder, and they know you are referring to Phalacrocorax carbo; say 'shag', and they know you are referring to Gulosus aristotelis (unless they think that you are propositioning them).

No. They've evolved from reptiles, but their characteristics are suitably different from those common to reptiles to warrant being classed as something else. Just like mammals. We evolved from reptiles, too.

Julia Fudala