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10

Brown Skua

(Stercorarius antarcticus)
Alternate name(s): "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

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Brown Skua at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "lonnbergi"

ADULT

Sex unknown

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]

Food, Diet

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.

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