Great skua Identification tips
Great skua
Stercorarius skua
Identification Tips:
- Length: 17.5 inches Wingspan: 16 inches
- Sexes similar
- Large, heavyset, thick-necked with broad-based wings
- Thick, heavy bill
- Broad white patch at base of primaries
- Short broad tail
- Sometimes chases other birds to steal their food
- Juveniles take several years to reach adult plumage
- Most often seen far offshore
Adult:
- Reddish-brown plumage
- Heavy streaking on body and wing coverts
Juvenile:
Similar species:
Skuas are similar to jaegers but are bulkier, thicker-necked, and with more
prominent wing patches. South Polar Skua is similar but lacks heavy streaking
on the body and wing coverts and lacks reddish-brown tones to plumage instead
being dark brown to grayish.
Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc.
Patuxent Bird Population Studies
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