Great Skua

Stercorarius skua (Brünnich, 1764)

Great Skua, Stercorarius skua, breeds in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Svalbard and north-west Russia as far as Novaya Zemlya. Outside the breeding season it ranges widely over offshore waters of the North Atlantic, reaching from the Gulf Stream off New England to North Carolina and north-east Brazil, and also occurs in the North Sea, off the Iberian Peninsula, around Macaronesia, and in waters off west Africa and the western Mediterranean. It is a large seabird in the skua family, and its size, heavy build and white wing flashes help set it apart at a distance. It was described by Brünnich in 1764.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Stercorariidae — Skuas

Breeding range

Palearctic: Iceland, Faroe Is., Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Svalbard (n of Norway), and nw Russia to Novaya Zemlya

Nonbreeding range

North Atlantic Ocean offshore waters to c Gulf Stream of New England to North Carolina, ne Brazil, North Sea to Iberian Pen., Macaronesia (w of nw Africa), w Africa and w Mediterranean