BirdUp · Species
Brown Skua
Stercorarius antarcticus(Lesson, RP, 1831)
Updated
- Order
- CHARADRIIFORMES
- Family
- Stercorariidae
- Genus
- Stercorarius
At a glance
The Brown Skua is a very large bird, about 64 cm long, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.
- Size
- 64 cm
- Origin
- Native
- Best seen
- Year-round
- Commonness
- Very common
01 · Identification
How to tell it apart
What does a Brown Skua look like?
The Brown Skua is a very large bird, about 64 cm long and weighing 1220–2210 g.
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
03 · When
When to look
When can you see a Brown Skua?
The Brown Skua is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
05 · Behaviour
Habits and haunts
What does a Brown Skua eat?
The Brown Skua feeds on terrestrial vertebrates, carrion and fish/invertebrates, usually foraging in pairs or alone.
06 · Gallery
Plumage up close
6 photos
The BirdUp app
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