Great Skua
Stercorarius skua
Powerful dark brown seabird, resembles a dark, heavily built immature gull. Note eye-catching white flashes in the primaries when in flight. Adults have distinct pale mottling on the upperparts, which serves to separate them from adults of the very similar South Polar Skua. Juveniles are more uniformly colored, with warm-colored and largely unmarked underparts; note bulkier build and more powerful flight than Pomarine Jaeger. Breeds locally on moorland of islands and coasts in northern Europe, where aggressive near nests. Otherwise lives at sea, but may be seen from shore during windy conditions during migration periods. Feeds by pirating gulls and other seabirds, also by scavenging at fishing boats.
Identification
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 lb 13 oz) and that 125 females weighed an average of 1.41 kg (3 lb 2 oz). 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. Distinguishing this skua from the other North Atlantic skuas (parasitic jaeger, pomarine jaeger and long-tailed jaeger) is relatively straightforward. The herring gull size, massive barrel chest and white wing flashes of this bird are distinctive even at a distance. It is sometimes said to give the impression of a common buzzard. Identification of this skua is only complicated when it is necessary to distinguish it from the closely related large southern-hemisphere skuas. Despite its name, the great skua is marginally smaller on average than the other 3 large southern-hemisphere skuas, although not by enough to distinguish them by size in the field. Some authorities still regard the great skua as conspecific with some of these southern skuas, and as a group they have sometimes been separated in the genus Catharacta, although currently this taxonomy is not commonly followed.
Taxonomy
The great skua was described from the Faroe Islands and Iceland by the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich in 1764 under the binomial name Catharacta skua. It is now placed in the genus Stercorarius that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The English name and species name "skua" is believed to originate from the Faroese skúvur or skúgvur [ˈskɪkvʊər] and is the only known bird name to originate from the Faroes that has come into regular use elsewhere. In Britain, it is sometimes known by the name bonxie, a Shetland name of Norse origin. The genus name Stercorarius is Latin and means "of dung"; the food disgorged by other birds when pursued by skuas was once thought to be excrement. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Stercorarius skua
- Authority
- (Brünnich, 1764)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Stercorariidae
- Genus
- Stercorarius
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- PAL : Iceland, Faroe Is., Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Svalbard (n of Norway), and nw Russia to Novaya Zemlya
- Non-breeding range
- North Atlantic Ocean offshore waters to c Gulf Stream of New England to North Carolina, ne Brazil, North Sea to Iberian Pen., Macaronesia (w of nw Africa), w Africa and w Mediterranean
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Meiglyptes jugularis
Adorably tiny and stout woodpecker. Triangular crest makes the head seem disproportionately large at a distance. Odd patchy black-and-white patterning is unique and easily recognizable. Male has a subtle reddish tinge to the bill base, but the two sexes are otherwise quite similar. Inhabits lowland to foothill forests, where it prefers open patches and edges. Forages in pairs or singly, poking about on slender branches and around leaf clusters. Gives a squeaky two-note call and a high-pitched rattling trill.
Streaked Xenops
Xenops rutilans
Small brown bird with large distribution from Costa Rica to Argentina. Rufous-brown overall with whitish eyebrow and a white stripe on the side of the face. Extensive streaking on crown and underparts separates from Plain Xenops. Compare with Slender-billed Xenops, which occurs primarily in lowland Amazonian forests where Streaked does not and is not as boldly streaked. Usually found singly or in pairs following a mixed-species flock. Occurs in mature forests and edges, from the understory to the canopy, but most often at middle levels. Can be found from the lowlands up to around 2,500 m.
Masked Apalis
Apalis binotata
A small, slender warbler with greenish upperparts and reddish eyes; gray crown and cheeks are separated from the black throat by a striking white moustache. Juvenile has a green crown and a yellow throat. Locally common at scattered locations in lowland forest below 1500 meters of elevation, preferring the lower strata of primary and secondary forest and scrub in clearings. Pairs give a continuous buzzy “dree-lip, dreep-lip, dree-lip” and a dry “strik-strik-strik.” Masked Apalis looks similar to some montane forest apalises, but Black-throated Apalis has a striking yellow-orange belly, and Black-faced Apalis, an Albertine Rift endemic, has a black crown and the moustachial streak reduced to a neck spot.
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