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The total population of New Zealand King Shag (Leucocarbo carunculatus) was counted for the first time during the 1992 breeding season. At 524 birds, numbers were almost twice as high as estimated previously. The daily rhythm, foraging range and feeding location of King Shags from the Duffers Reef colony in the Marlborough Sounds were studied in 1991 and 1992. The mean (( s.d.) foraging range was 8.2 ( 4.1 km (maximum 24 km) from the colony. Most (74%) fed in 31% of the study area, 20-40 metres below the surface on a mainly flat bottom, within the confines of the outer Marlborough Sounds. During the six months courtship/breeding period, daily rhythm of the colony was different from the rest of morning and afternoon. It is assumed that females left to feed in the morning and males in the afternoon to feed and collect nesting material. No double peak was seen during the non breeding period.