CLASSIFICATION:

The Skua is related to the Gull and the great Gull, but heavier built and far more aggressive. The scientific name is Stercorarius maccormicki.

The Skua has an orange neck gradually getting darker towards the tail until it's black.
The wings and beak are black.

HABITAT:

The Skua, a migratory bird, mainly lives on the coast of Antarctica although has been found in Japan, India, Macquarie Island and Southern Tasmania.

The Skua sometimes flies gracefully, but mostly flies with speed and hunts for abandoned Adelie eggs.

FEEDING HABITS:

The Skua eats abandoned Adelie Penguin eggs, food scraps, week or dead penguins and any thing else it can get its greedy beak in to.

BREEDING HABITS:

Skuas lay two speckled eggs on the ground and build a nest around them made up of rocks and pebbles, which helps camouflage the eggs. It is surrounded by other bird and penguin colonies where there is plenty of food available. Usually the first one hatched survives and the second one lives if the first one dies. Skuas are very protective birds and will attack people if they pass through their breeding area. The eggs are usually laid in November/ December with the chicks hatching in late December and juveniles begin to fly around mid February.

There is a Skua at the Antarctic Base, Casey, known as Linda. She is a regular visitor who is often fed. Skuas and other birds and penguins are constantly stealing each other's pebbles because there are not enough pebbles to go around.

References:

'What Bird is That", Cayley, Angus & Robertson, 1974.

August 26, 1999