Its unique, looped head and elongated beak allow to easily feed on shellfish and marine invertebrates.

[3] Some taxonomic authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union, place this species in the genus Leucocarbo.

Since L. campbelli evolved on Campbell Island and can only be found there, it is named for this region, 700 km south of New Zealand.

[8] Blue eyed shag species dispersed from South America during the Pliocene or Early Pleistocene due to cycles of glaciation.

A 2000 study on cormorant and shag phylogeny found that foot colour might be an indicator of a close genetic relationship in these birds.

[8] The Campbell Island shag is a marine bird with black and white plumage and pink feet.

[9] In breeding season, adult birds have a head crest, a yellow line above the bill's gape, and facial skin and throat pouch that can range from purple to orange.

[4][9] Juveniles and non-breeding adults have browner plumage instead of all black, as well as duller skin and throat pouches.

They can usually be found in enclosed areas like harbours and rocky beaches, but have been known to rest on coastal landforms after foraging in the sea.

[10] Their breeding season lasts from November to February, in enclosed spaces near the water, like caves, alcoves, covered ledges, and beneath overhanging rocks, where they build flat bowls of twigs as nests.

[10] Campbell Island shags perform elaborate courtship dances with penguin-walking, horizontal standing, posing with the rump in the air, swinging their heads, crest-lowering, bouncing and vocalising.

[4][10] Other birds with similar diets, like Cape petrels, Antarctic terns and red-billed gulls, sometimes join the shags' foraging flocks.

[4] The New Zealand Department of Conservation recommended in the year 2000 that all the pink-footed shags be studied using modern DNA techniques and trait comparisons, including vocalisations.

[10] The New Zealand Department of Conservation recommends that pest quarantine measures are taken on Campbell Island and a quick emergency response is prepared for any new introductions.