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Marine1.3 kg
What the South Polar Skua sounds like
ID tip
The south polar skua is a large bird (though small compared to other skuas sometimes placed in Catharacta) that measures around 53 cm (21 in) in length. Adults are greyish brown above, and have a whitish (pale morph) or straw-brown (intermediate morph) head and underparts, and the contrast between head and body makes it easy to separate from similar species with good views. Juveniles and adult dark morphs are harder to distinguish from their relatives, and more subjective or difficult-to-observe criteria, such as the colder brown plumage and blue bill base, must be used.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the South Polar Skua
One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 9 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is September, the month with the most records.
Where to see the South Polar Skua
The map shades 18 countries with regular records, and 18 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Portugal, India, United Kingdom, Argentina, Chile, Taiwan, Panama, Ecuador, Mauritius, South Korea, Sri Lanka, France, Micronesia, Guatemala, Martinique, Russia, Solomon Islands, Tonga.
About the South Polar Skua
The south polar skua is a large seabird in the skua family, Stercorariidae. An older name for the bird is MacCormick's skua, after explorer and naval surgeon Robert McCormick, who first collected the type specimen. This species and the other large skuas, such as the great skua, are sometimes placed in a separate genus Catharacta.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Chilean SkuaStercorarius chilensisChilean skuas tend to be dark on their back, flanks, and cheeks, and uniformly light underneath.
Brown SkuaStercorarius antarcticusThis is the heaviest species of skua and rivals the largest gulls, the great black-backed gull and glaucous gull, as the heaviest species in the shorebird order although not as large in length or wingspan.
Great SkuaStercorarius skuaGreat skuas measure 50–58 cm (20–23 in) long and have a 125–140 cm (49–55 in) wingspan.
Side by side: Chilean Skua vs South Polar Skua · Great Skua vs South Polar Skua · Brown Skua vs South Polar Skua
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