South Polar Skua

The South Polar Skua is a large bird that can grow up to 53 cm in length. It breeds on Antarctic coasts, usually laying two eggs in November and December. Like other skuas, it will fly at the head of a human or other intruder approaching its nest. It is a migrant, wintering at sea in the Pacific Indian and Atlantic Oceans. In the eastern North Atlantic it is replaced by the Great Skua.

The South Polar Skua is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

A South Polar Skua in Adélie Land Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Charadriiformes Family: Stercorariidae Genus: Stercorarius Species: S. More

The South Polar Skua is a large seabird found throughout the southern hemisphere. Breeding for this species takes place on Antarctic coastlines. In winter months, the South Polar Skua migrates south to the Pacific Indian and Atlantic Oceans. This species is very protective of its nests, and will fly at an intruder’s head when approaching them. These are built on the ground or along the rocky coasts. Diets consist mainly of fish; these are retrieved by stealing them from gulls, terns and gannets. More

South Polar Skua Dark: Small, gull-like skua, occurs in two color phases. Dark phase adult has dark brown body, large white patch at base of primaries visible in flight. Dark bill, thick and heavy; short, broad tail. Light phase adult has pale gray-brown head and underparts. Strong direct flight. Range and Habitat South Polar Skua Dark: Nests in Antarctica in sheltered areas adjacent to penguin colonies. Migrates to offshore Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America. Pelagic, comes ashore only to breed. More

* The South Polar skua is recognized as the world's most southerly bird: sightings have occurred even at the South Pole. * At sea, South Polars may chase smaller seabirds to force them to regurgitate or drop their prey; this is called 'kleptoparasitism. More

The South Polar Skua eats mainly fish, which it often obtains by robbing gulls, terns and even gannets of their catches. It will also directly attack and kill other seabirds. Like most other skua species, it continues this piratical behaviour throughout the year, showing less agility and more brute force than the smaller skuas when it harasses its victims. Description: This is a large bird at 53 cm length. More

In flight, the South Polar Skua has a hunchbacked appearance, blackish underwing coverts, and a white patch in the primaries. back to top Pictures - back to top Habitat - Away from their breeding grounds, South Polar Skuas are highly pelagic. More

Aspects of the topic South Polar skua are discussed in the following places at Britannica. Assorted References * breeding in Antarctica (in Antarctica: Birds) About 45 species of birds live south of the Antarctic Convergence, but only three—the emperor penguin (see photograph), Antarctic petrel, and South Polar (McCormick’s) skua—breed exclusively on the continent or on nearby islands. More

A South Polar Skua was seen on Jekyll Island (South Beach) on Friday, 16 October 1998 from approximately 9:00 am - 11:30 am. I had been seeing large gull/tern flocks flushing from the beach and keyed in on a large dark bird flying through the flock. The bird sat on the beach and I approached it within 25 feet. The bird was dark overall except for some light feathers around the neck. More

The south polar skua (Catharacta maccormicki) is a long-lived seabird. Adults of... 1997-05-01 00:00:00.0, TEXT , Millar, C. D. , Lambert, D. M. , Young, E. C. Molecular dynamics analysis of a second phosphate site in the hemoglobins of the seabird, south polar skua. Is there a site-site migratory mechanism along the central cavity? ...the hemoglobins of the south polar skua (Catharacta maccormicki). It is formed by a cluster of six positive... More

problematic, and few records of South Polar Skua have been accepted in Western Europe. Similar problems occur, of course, with extra-limital claims of Great Skua. This bird is named after the naval surgeon Robert McCormick, who collected the type specimen. Reference - * Seabirds by Harrison, ISBN 0-7470-8028-8 Retrieved from "http://www.indopedia.org/South_Polar_Skua.html" This page has been accessed 47 times. This page was last modified 20:01, 12 Oct 2004 by Indopedia user User:. More

The South Polar Skua, Stercorarius maccormicki, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. An older name for this bird is MacCormick's Skua. This species and the other large southern hemisphere skuas, together with Great Skua, are sometimes placed in a separate genus Catharacta. This is a large bird at 53 cm length. It breeds on Antarctic coasts, usually laying two eggs in November and December. More

South Polar Skua photographed by Steve Mirick in California Where Does It Breed Southern hemisphere breeder mostly around Antarctica. Largest population around the Ross Sea Area (3) Breeds from October to February . Juveniles disperses north and can appear in northern waters during our summer. Appears off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland along with Great Skuas. Adults probably stay close to breeding areas. Competes with the Arctic Tern as a long distance migrant. More

South Polar SkuaThe south polar skua is a stocky gull-like bird that is about 21 inches in length. It has a dull brownish-gray body with white patches on its outer wings. It has a thick neck; a short, broad tail; a thick, hooked, black bill and black legs. Males and females look alike. Range The south polar skua breeds in Antarctica. More

seen around the mainland, indeed the South Polar Skua is more likely to be seen during its annual migration overwinter between Antarctica and the northern Pacific Ocean, following a similar path to the Sooty Shearwaters. Of the several hundred breeding Brown Skuas and 1200 fledglings banded on the Chatham Island in the past 25 years only one has been recorded subsequently from the New Zealand mainland. Brown Skuas on temperate islands apparently do not move far from their breeding grounds. More

(1993) Separation of South Polar Skua from Great Skua. British Birds 86(4): p176-177 Lansdown, P. (1993) Mystery Photographs (#188) British Birds Date: 86(5): p218-219 McGeehan, A. (1998) Polar Explorations. Birdwatch Issue 75 (Sept): p28-32. Entertaining review of the status of South Polar Skua in the North Atlantic. Provides useful background to the current identification debate. Newell, R., Porter, R. and Marr, T. (1997) South Polar Skua - an overlooked bird in the eastern Atlantic. More

Mating/Breeding: South Polar skuas become sexually mature at 5 years old. Much attached to traditional nesting sites, they return to the breeding places, often close by bird cliffs or penguin rookeries, in late October and November. The nest is anything from an unlined scrape to a saucer of grasses, lichens and moss. It is often situated in solitary splendour on a high vantage point overlooking a substantial territory in the style of the eagle. More

Adult South Polar Skuas are greyish brown above, and have a whitish (pale morph) or straw-brown (intermediate morph) head and underparts, and the contrast between head and body makes it easy to separate from similar species with good views. Juveniles and adult dark morphs are harder to distinguish from their relatives, and more subjective or difficult-to-observe criteria, such as the colder brown plumage and blue bill base, must be used. More

South Polar Skua in flight ~ May 2009 Hatteras, NC USA = gadflypetrel 10 vidéos S'abonnerModifier l'abonnement Chargement… 100 vues 100 vues gadflypetrel — 7 mars 2010 — Footage from May 20-21, 2009 of some South Polar Skuas in flight. Images were taken from the Stormy Petrel II o... gadflypetrel — 7 mars 2010 — Footage from May 20-21, 2009 of some South Polar Skuas in flight. More