Where do skua birds live?

What is the difference between Arctic skua and great skua?

The arctic skua is a medium-sized dark-looking seabird with pointed wings and pale patches at the wingtips. The great skua is an aggressive pirate of the seas, deliberately harassing birds as large as gannets to steal a free meal. The long-tailed skua is a medium-sized seabird.

Where can I see a great skua?

Great skua can be seen in breeding areas on coastal rocky islands and moorland – at other times seen around coasts, often in the neighbourhood of seabird colonies, scavenging from other birds, or picking food from the surface of the sea.

Where do skuas live in the ocean?

Name: Arctic Skua, Parasitic Skua, Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) Length:40 to 50 cm. Weight: 300 to 650 grams. Location: Breeds in Northern North America, Europe, and Asia. Winters in tropical and southern oceans. Conservation status: Least Concern. Diet: Fish, small mammals, small birds, insects.

Is the great skua a pirate?

The great skua is an aggressive pirate of the seas, deliberately harassing birds as large as gannets to steal a free meal. It also readily kills and eats smaller birds such as puffins.

Where can I see a skua in the UK?

The dark brown plumage and, especially, the very conspicuous white wing-patches of Great Skua may be visible at long range. Arctic is the most frequent skua in British and Irish waters, and is the one with which birdwatchers are most commonly confronted.

What is the difference between Arctic skua and other skua?

Pomarine Skua has been observed landing in the middle of gatherings of resting gulls without provoking aggressive behaviour. Arctic, however, is normally chased away from such roosts, and is normally seen resting on the edge of them (K. Pedersen in litt.).

What is a great skua?

A fierce pirate of the sea, the great skua is renowned for stealing fish from other seabirds and dive-bombing anyone that comes near its nests. It breeds on the Scottish Isles. Classified in the UK as Amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds (2015). Great skuas are large seabirds, about the same size as herring gulls.

Where do skua Birds live in the UK?

Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden. The great skua breeds in Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and on Scottish islands, with some individuals breeding on mainland Scotland and in the northwest of Ireland. They breed on coastal moorland and rocky islands, usually laying two spotted olive-brown eggs in grass-lined nests.

What does a great skua bird look like?

Adults are a streaked greyish brown, with a black cap, while juveniles are a warmer brown and unstreaked below. They have a short, blunt tail, and a powerful flight. The great skua’s call is a harsh hah-hah-hah-hah; quacking and croaking noises have also been heard.

Where do skuas live in Antarctica?

Distribution: Widespread throughout coastal regions in Antarctica, migrates across the equator in the Antarctic winter reaching as far as Alaska and Greenland. Skuas have been seen at the south pole. What are Skuas like?

What is a Skua bird known for?

A fierce pirate of the sea, the great skua is renowned for stealing fish from other seabirds and dive-bombing anyone that comes near its nests. It breeds on the Scottish Isles. Classified in the UK as Amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds (2015).

What is the scientific name of the great skua?

Great Skua. Scientific name: Stercorarius skua. A fierce pirate of the sea, the Great Skua is renowned for stealing fish from other seabirds and dive-bombing anyone that comes near its nests. It breeds on the Scottish Isles.

Where can I see a Skua bird in Scotland?

This bird species has different identifying features depending on sex/age/season. In summer the arctic skua is most easily seen in the Shetland and Orkney islands, also on some coastal moorlands of north and west Scotland.

What does a Skua bird look like?

The pomarine skua is a large seabird, nearly as big as a herring gull. It has long spoon-shaped tail streamers. There are two colour forms: dark – birds are all dark brown with small white flashes on the wings; light – birds have a pale breast and a dark cap on their heads.

How does the Arctic skua fly?

In active migration flight, Arctic Skua moves rapidly downwind on stiff wings in a very shearwater-like fashion. It is also capable of moving purposefully into even a very strong headwind.

Is a skua a pirate?

The great skua is an aggressive pirate of the seas, deliberately harassing birds as large as gannets to steal a free meal. The long-tailed skua is a medium-sized seabird.

What does the great skua eat?

The great skua (Stercorarius skua) is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is roughly the size of a herring gull. It mainly eats fish caught at the sea surface or taken from other birds.

Where do Arctic skuas live in UK?

In the UK, the Arctic Skua breeds in northern and western Scotland in coastal moorlands, and is a regular passage migrant in the Isle of Man, and Ireland. It has a “Red” status because of recent, sharp declines in its small UK breeding population.

What is a brown skua?

The Brown Skua is a bird of Antarctica and surrounding oceans. Although it can hunt for itself, it will also steal food from other birds. Or, it may just eat them.

What is the average size of a Skua bird?

Great skuas measure 50–58 cm (20–23 in) long and have a 125–140 cm (49–55 in) wingspan. One study found that 112 males weighed an average of 1.27 kg (2.8 lb) and that 125 females weighed an average of 1.41 kg (3.1 lb). Adults are a streaked greyish brown, with a black cap, while juveniles are a warmer brown and unstreaked below.

What is it like to see a Skua?

Skuas tend to have a reputation as being fierce and aggressive birds, which is somewhat unfair. I see them more as characters who stick up for their own corner and look after their own – no more or less than humans do. Often a visitors first sight of a skua is at a penguin colony where they usually are nesting nearby.

Are there skuas in Antarctica?

In fact, skuas are one of Antarctica’s top avian predators. There are two skua species in Antarctica, the brown skua and south polar skua . Both patrol King George Island in the South Shetlands as well as the nearby Antarctic Peninsula in search of prey.

Where do south polar skuas go in winter?

South Polar Skuas have a huge migratory range, some wintering as far north as Alaska and Greenland. 4. Although South Polar Skuas enjoy penguin eggs they have a hard time getting to them since their cousins the Brown Skuas tend to control the penguin colony territories, chasing away any competition.