The Brown Skua is a bird of Antarctica and surrounding oceans. Although it can hunt for itself, it will also steal food from other birds. Or, it may just eat them.
It will often hybridize with other Skuas.
Classification:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Stercorariidae
Genus: Catharacta
Species: C. antarctica
Photos:
brown skua
"A brown suka ( Stercorarius antarctica) taken 15th july 2007 sossa pelaic tour"
Photo courtesy of jenink
Brown Skua, Stercorarius antarcticus, with chicks
"Skuas are typically very aggressively defensive at breeding sites. These ones were so quiet and camouflaged that I didn’t detect them until almost on top of the birds. Brown Skuas are probably the most important avian predator on the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands, consuming large numbers of penguin eggs and chicks. The are also efficient scavengers. doing a lot to clean up penguin carcasses and regurgitated krill and fish. Photographed at Robert Point, Robert Island, South Shetland Islands - December 31, 2006. More Brown Skua and Antarctica images can be found on my web site at www.birdinfo.com"
Photo courtesy of mgsbird Read the rest of this entry »
