Sub-Antarctic Skua

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Sub-Antarctic Skua
Catharacta antarctica.png

Subantarctic skua ( Stercorarius antarcticus )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Plover-like (Charadriiformes)
Family : Skuas (Stercorariidae)
Genre : Stercorarius
Type : Sub-Antarctic Skua
Scientific name
Stercorarius antarcticus
( Lesson , 1831)
A brown skua on King George Island, the southern limit of distribution

The Brown Skua ( Stercorarius antarcticus , Syn. : Catharacta antarctica ), also known as Brown Skua called, is a species of the family of skuas (Stercorariidae). It occurs with three subspecies: Stercorarius antarcticus antarcticus , Stercorarius antarcticus hamiltoni and Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi .

features

The plumage of the Subantarctic skua is relatively dark. Except for the area around the eyes and the tail area, all feathers are brown and have small, lighter spots. The feathers around the eyes and the tail feathers are dark brown to black in color. The wing insides that are visible in flight have a clearly visible white spot that is triangular in shape.

food

Sub-Antarctic skuas feed mainly on fish , small sea birds and penguin chicks . Their dark gray beak has a very pointed hook.

distribution

The Sub-Antarctic Skua breeds on the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego , Argentina , New Zealand and some sub-Antarctic islands such as the Falkland Islands . For a long time it was assumed that this species would only breed in the Falkland Islands. In 1978, however, breeding birds were described on the Patagonian coast. In the Falkland Islands, the sub-Antarctic skua is a widespread species that tends to breed in the coastal area.

supporting documents

literature

  • Peter Harrison: Seabirds - an identification guide. A & C Black, London 1996, ISBN 0-7136-3510-X .
  • Barrie D. Heather, Hugh A. Robertson, Derek Onley: The field guide to the birds of New Zealand. Printing Press, 2000, ISBN 0-670-89370-6 .
  • Robin Woods, Anne Woods: Atlas of Breeding Birds of the Falkland Islands. Anthony Nelson, Shorpshire 1997, ISBN 0-904614-60-3 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Woods & Woods, p. 120.

Web links

Commons : Subantarktikskua ( Stercorarius antarcticus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files