BirdUp · Species
Brown Skua
Stercorarius antarcticus(Lesson, RP, 1831)
- Order
- CHARADRIIFORMES
- Family
- Stercorariidae
- Genus
- Stercorarius
- Commonness
- Very common
- Best seen
- Year-round
01 · Identification
How to tell it apart
The brown skua, also known as the Antarctic skua, Subantarctic skua, southern great skua, southern skua, or hākoakoa (Māori), is a large seabird that breeds in the subantarctic and Antarctic zones and moves farther north when not breeding. Its taxonomy is highly complex and a matter of dispute, with some splitting it into two or three species: Falkland skua, Tristan skua, and subantarctic skua. To further confuse, it hybridizes with both the south polar and Chilean skuas, and the entire group has been considered to be a subspecies of the great skua, a species otherwise restricted to the Northern Hemisphere.
Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
02 · Where
Where to find it
- Breeding range
- SO, AN : southern oceans and coasts: coastal south Argentina, Falkland Is., Tristan da Cunha group (south-central South Atlantic), subantarctic and Antarctic is. from Cape Horn to New Zealand region
03 · When
When to look
Months this species is recorded across its Australian range.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
05 · Behaviour
Habits and haunts
06 · Gallery
Plumage up close
6 photos
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