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Skuas
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Piratical birds, gaining much of their food by stealing it from other seabirds, skuas make a very small family with just four northern hemisphere species (all regularly seen in the UK, two breeding) and a few similar southern ones.
Skuas can be divided into two main types, the ‘great skua’ kind which are large, broad-winged and mottled brown and the rest, which are more slender, long-winged and have distinctive tail projections.
These (including the Arctic skua) are unusual among birds as they appear in two or three plumage forms (‘dark’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘pale’).
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A medium-sized dark-looking seabird with pointed wings, and pale patches at the wingtips. Often seen flying low and fast above the waves in pursuit of a tern or other bird, sometimes chasing it high ... More... |
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The great skua is an aggressive pirate of the seas, deliberately harrassing birds as large as gannets to steal a free meal. It also readily kills and eats smaller birds such as puffins. Great skuas sh... More... |
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The long-tailed skua is a medium-sized seabird and our smallest skua. It is the size of a black-headed gull, with slim wings and long delicate tail streamers. It is greyish above, and dusky below wit... More... |
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The pomarine skua is a large seabird, nearly as big as a herring gull. It has long spoon-shaped tail streamers. There are two colour forms: dark - birds are all dark brown with small white flashes on ... More... |
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