Is the skua endangered?

Is the skua endangered?

Least Concern (Population stable)
Great skua/Conservation status

What is skua Antarctica?

The no-nonsense skuas of 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 skuas live?

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.

Is a skua a seagull?

The Antarctic skua is a little smaller than a sea gull, but has the same basic body shape. The Antarctic skua is brown and white, while sea gulls are white, gray, and black. Sea gulls and skuas both live near water, and so both eat fish and small ocean creatures.

What does a great skua eat?

Mainly fish, birds, carrion. At sea eats mostly fish, particularly species like sand lance which gather in dense schools. Around breeding colonies often preys heavily on smaller seabirds, including kittiwakes and puffins, and eats eggs and chicks of many species.

Where do blue eyed shags live?

Length: 70 to 80 cm. Weight: 1.5 to 3.5 kg. Location: Southern hemisphere from New Zealand and southern end of South America down through the Antarctic.

How fast can an Arctic Skua fly?

Arctic skuas are medium-sized birds with two different morphs of plumage coloration. The light-colored morphs have brown backs with white underparts and dark feathers on their wings. On the other hand, birds with dark morphs are somewhat different.

What sound does a skua make?

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.

Are skua seagulls?

Taxonomy. The genus Stercorarius was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the parasitic jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) as the type species. Skuas are related to gulls, waders, auks, and skimmers.

What kind of bird is a brown skua?

Brown skua. Jump to navigation Jump to search. The brown skua (Stercorarius antarcticus), also known as the Antarctic skua, subantarctic skua, southern great skua, southern skua, or hākoakoa (Māori), is a large seabird that breeds in the subantarctic and Antarctic zones and moves further north when not breeding.

What kind of food does the brown skua eat?

To further confuse, it hybridizes with both the south polar and Chilean skuas, and the entire group has been considered to be a subspecies of the great skua, a species otherwise restricted to the Northern Hemisphere . It feeds on fish (often via kleptoparasitism ), penguin chicks and other seabirds, small mammals, eggs and carrion .

Where do brown skuas live in the world?

The Brown Skua (Catharacta antarctica) breeds in the southern oceans almost circumpolarly in places like South Georgia, the Falklands, some areas of Antarctica, some areas of New Zealand and other islands. The taxonomy of these birds is still somewhat controversial. In addition, hybridization is quite common according to some researchers.

What’s the difference between a south polar skua and a great skua?

Lacks the capped appearance of Great and Chilean Skuas, and has darker underwing coverts than those species. The dark morph of South Polar Skua has colder tones and a smaller bill, but field separation is difficult. POWERED BY MERLIN Statistics