(Phalacrocorax aristotelis)
This Shag is in full breeding plumage with the crest on the head but the real beauty of the bird is in the colour of its feathers.
As the light catches them they are all shades of green and blue with a darker edge to each feather - certainly not the simple "black bird" it appears to be from a distance.
This Shag was photographed on the Farne Islands off the north east coast of England.
