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Great Skua (Stercorarius skua) German name(s): "Große Raubmöwe" Size: 50-58 cm; wing span 1.25-1.40 m Body mass: 1.27 kg (male, avg), 1.42 kg (female, avg) Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.46-0.58 (male), 0.51-0.65 (female)

Europe: Family Group 10 Family Group 10 Table Great Skua Arctic Skua Pomarine Skua Caspian Gull Great Black-backed Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull American Herring Gull European Herring Gull Yellow-legged Gull Audouin's Gull Slender-billed Gull Iceland Gull Common Gull Ring-billed Gull Black-headed Gull Bonaparte's Gull Mediterranean Gull Little Gull Sabine's Gull Black-legged Kittiwake Caspian Tern Sandwich Tern Gull-billed Tern Common Tern Arctic Tern Little Tern Forster's Tern Whiskered Tern Black Tern White-winged Black Tern Atlantic Puffin Razorbill Common Guillemot Black Guillemot Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Great Skuas are medium-sized seabirds. Their plumage is primarily dark brownish-grey, with lighter brown streaking (yellowish-brown on the neck). The scapulars have more silver-grey streaks. The primaries and secondaries are dark-grey; in flight they show conspicuous white wing "flashes". Their build is heavy, as is the grey, slightly hooked bill. The bill has a slightly darker grey tip than the inner parts. The irises are dark; legs and feet are dark-grey. Juveniles have more uniformly brown plumage on the front and the mantle. The head is dark-grey, while the upperwings are dark-grey with rufous to brown edge lining. The wing flashes are less conspicuous than in adults.

Taxonomy, classification See Great Skua at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species 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 . The global distribution of the Great Skua is available HERE . Great Skuas populate the entire northern Atlantic Ocean and its coastlines, from the north-eastern US (as far to the South as the Carolinas) in the West to western Africa in the East. In the North their distribution extends to beyond the polar circle. They can be found in southern Greenland, on Iceland and on and around Svalbard. Within that range they are migratory/dispersive, breeding along the shorelines of the northern parts of their range, while in winter they also enter the western Mediterranean Sea. While not breeding they spend a lot of time out on the open ocean or in coastal waters. In Europe Great Skuas breed on islands off Scotland, on Iceland and along the coastline of northern Norway. Their winter quarters overlap in part with the breeding range, from southern Norway and the islands to the North of Scotland southwards into the Atlantic Ocean northwards of the tropic of Cancer. They also enter the western Mediterranean Sea, up to the Cote d'Azure and Sicily, and they have recently started colonizing the western Baltic Sea. Anywhere else along the European coastline they can be found during migration.

Sightings Click here for sighting information G. Pinelas reports spotting a Great Skua in the port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, in January 2019. J. Pires reports spotting Great Skuas off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, basically every year in October, since 2018. Others were found in the port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, in March 2019, and at Papoa, near Cape Carvoeiro, Peniche, Portugal, in January 2023. More Great Skuas were found on a pelagic ca. 50 NM off Sintra, Portugal, in April 2025.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Near-frontal view of a moulting Great Skua; note the heavy bill with dark tip (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, January 2019]

Near-lateral view of a moulting Great Skua; note the pale markings on the wing feathers (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, January 2019]

Lateral view of a moulting Great Skua (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, January 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a Great Skua in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[50 NM off Sintra, Portugal, April 2025]

Near-dorsal view of a Great Skua in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Great Skua in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Close-up near-dorsal/ventral view of a Great Skua in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[50 NM off Sintra, Portugal, April 2025]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a moulting Great Skua in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Close-up dorsal view of a Great Skua in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[50 NM off Sintra, Portugal, April 2025]

Distant comparison of Great Skuas in flight with a Northern Gannet (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, March 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Great Skua in flight; note the dark head compared to the rest of the body (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Lateral view of a juvenile Great Skua in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Lateral view of a juvenile Great Skua in flight, wings flat (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Lateral view of a juvenile Great Skua in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Lateral view of a juvenile Great Skua's wing flashes from above (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a juvenile Great Skua in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Great Skua in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Great Skua in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Migratory/nomadic

Elementary unit: Solitary

The Great Skua is listed as territorial here because, although the species nests in loose colonies, each pair is fiercely protective of its nest site. When not breeding, they spend most of their time out at sea.

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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