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Brown Skua
(Stercorarius antarcticus)
: "Antarctic Skua", "Great Skua", "Subantarctic Skua", "Southern Skua",
"Southern Great Skua", "hakoakoa"
Size: 50-58 cm; wing span 1.25-1.4 m
Weight: 1.2-2.2 kg
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Brown Skuas are medium-sized pelagic birds. They have the
size and shape of a gull
and an all dark-brown
plumage, with some buff streaking at the neck and on the
upperwings. The bill is dark-grey and hooked; the legs and feet
are also dark-grey. In flight, white patches can be seen on the
upperwing at the base of the primary flight feathers.
Juvenile
birds do not have any streaking yet.
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Twitcher's tip |
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Compared to South
Polar Skuas, the Brown Skua is bigger, more massive and also
darker.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Brown
Skua at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
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The global distribution of the Brown Skua is available
HERE
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Although found mostly on the oceans of the southern hemisphere,
Brown Skuas are a global bird species that is present on the
open seas
of both the northern and southern hemispheres.
Around Australia only race "lonnbergi" is found,
which populates the southern oceans and coastal waters.
They reach the Australian coastline anywhere from about the Hunter
estuary, NSW, around
the South coast of the continent to about Perth (in some cases even
Carnarvon), WA. Brown Skuas, race "lonnbergi", breed on
offshore islands,
such as e.g. Macquarie Island.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
B. Hensen reports spotting Brown Skuas, race ""lonnbergi", off
Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean in December 1993.
M. Mearns reports spotting Brown Skuas, race "lonnbergi", in
Antarctica in January 2005.
We spotted a Brown Skua, race "lonnbergi",
on a pelagic to the edge of the continental shelf, 22 nautical
miles (40 km) from Terrigal, NSW, in July 2013.
J. Greaves reports spotting a Brown Skua, race "lonnbergi", a few km
off the south-western coast of WA at Flinders Bay, Augusta, WA, in
May 2015.
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Photos |
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Race "lonnbergi"
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ADULT |
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Lateral view of a Brown Skua (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Antarctica, January 2005]
Lateral view of a Brown Skua floating on coastal water (photo courtesy
of J. Greaves)
[Flinders Bay, Augusta, WA, May 2015]
Adult Brown Skua protecting its nest, in the process displaying its
characteristic underwing pattern (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean, December 1993]
Squabbling bunch of Brown Skuas (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean, December 1993]
(Bad) photo of a Brown Skua in flight, seen from underneath
[22 NM (40 km) ESE of Terrigal, NSW, July 2013]
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Food, Diet |
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Next to fresh kills, Brown Skuas also feed on carrion.
Northern Giant-Petrel,
centre, and three Brown Skuas feeding on a seal carcass
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean, December 1993]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors.
The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.