Latin Etymology: Stercorarius ("of dung") parasiticus ("parasitic)
First Calender Year Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) at Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk - July 2023
Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 300-650g / Length: 41-48cm / Wingspan: 107-125cm
UK RED LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern
The Arctic Skua is the smallest of the four skuas found in the UK; a group that I'd had a lot of trouble catching up with at all. The three smaller skuas (arctic, great and pomarine) all have fairly similar plumage and occur in different colour morphs broadly categorised as light and dark. Compared to the other two species, it has a shorter tail and is smaller. They are migratory, breeding mostly around the Arctic ocean and migrating to spend Winters around the South of South America, Africa and Australasia.
Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Stercorariidae
Genus: Stercorarius
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic
- Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - A very local breeding species in the North of Scotland (2100 pairs) and passage migrant along all coasts.
- A single dark phase bird seen at Herne Bay in October 2019, .
- A single 1cy bird seen at Winterton-on-Sea in July 2023, .
UNITED STATES
Breeds in Alaska, coastal passage elsewhere
- CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen on the Half Moon Bay Pelagic Trip
Breeds in Alaska, coastal passage elsewhere
- CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen on the Half Moon Bay Pelagic Trip
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