Skua: a brief description of polar birds, photos and videos. Skua great Skua lives

Long-tailed Skua/ Stercorarius loncicaudis

Western hemispheres. In some places it enters the forest-tundra. Migratory bird. It winters in the Mediterranean, in the area of ​​Japan, Chile, Peru and Argentina, mainly in the open parts of the ocean. Skuas arrive from wintering grounds to nesting sites in spring - at the end of May or June. Soon one can observe their characteristic games in the air, accompanied by impetuous throws or lightning-fast flight, as well as various cries, most often similar to dog yapping. After a while, the birds start nest building. They nest in separate pairs, at a considerable distance from each other, and only in places - in colonies. Nests are made on dry soil in the form of a hole without any lining. As the nest grows, a lining of lichens appears in the nest. Depending on the geographical location of the area, eggs are laid on different dates in June and in the first half of July. The clutch contains 2, sometimes 1 or 3 eggs of olive or greenish-brown color with rare dark-brown streaks, mainly at the blunt end. Egg sizes: 50-60 X x37-42 mm. Incubation begins after the laying of the first egg, so the chicks in the brood are of different ages. Both parents incubate for 23 days. A bird free from incubation guards the nest, sitting somewhere near it on a hillock or hummock. Older birds actively protect clutch and chicks. The chicks hatch at different dates in July and grow quite quickly. At three weeks of age, they are fully fledged, but long before that they get out of the nest. In August, the juveniles fledge, and if food supplies in the area are exhausted, then at the end of August, skuas fly away. Molting, like that of other skuas, proceeds mainly on wintering grounds. The food of the Long-tailed Skua is very diverse: small fish, rodents, small birds and chicks, insects and their larvae, crustaceans, molluscs, worms, berries and offal. spring highest value have berries crowberry, lingonberry, bearberry, in the nesting period - rodents (lemmings, voles) and even weasels. In rodent-poor years, skuas feed mainly on small birds - Lapland plantains, waders, their chicks and eggs. In autumn, before departure, berries occupy a large share in the diet. The described species uses the food taken from other birds less than other skuas, therefore, it is more dependent on the prey caught by itself. This dependence on mouse-like rodents, and primarily on lemmings, is especially significant. In years poor in lemmings, the number of birds decreases sharply, and nests are not observed in such years. On the contrary, with an abundance of lemmings, the number of skuas increases sharply, and all of them usually participate in breeding. The food requirement of a skua can be judged by the following example: one bird eats 3-4 lemmings a day.

Arctic Skua/ Stercorarius parasiticus

America, off the southeastern coast of Australia, off New Zealand, in the Persian Gulf and off the coasts of Pakistan. Rarely found inland. In terms of lifestyle and habits, it has many similarities with other skuas.

Middle Skua / Stercorarius pomarinus

Migratory bird.During migrations, it moves mainly along the ocean coasts, descending south to Japan and California in the Pacific Ocean, to Central America and Africa in the Atlantic. The Pomarine Skua nests in the tundra, near sea ​​coasts or inland waters. The nest is usually placed on a hummock and is a small depression in the soil lined with lichens, dry grass, and willow leaves. Sometimes the eggs are laid just on the ground. The clutch usually contains 2 brownish eggs with dark spots and mottles, laid at different dates in June. Eggs are laid at intervals of 48 hours. The male and female incubate for a little less than a month, starting from the laying of the first egg. When approaching the nest of the enemy, they very zealously attack him and drive him away. Downy chicks were observed in July, flight chicks - in August. Young very soon begin to lead an independent life. There are observations that in years of low lemming abundance, this bird does not nest. Departure takes place in September-October. Molting begins in August with a change in small plumage and ends in February - March at wintering grounds. Prenuptial molting takes place there in February - April. The average skua feeds on a variety of animals - fish, invertebrates, lemmings, small birds and their eggs, various garbage. He swallows lemmiigs whole, and the nests have stocks of mined animals (up to 10 or more individuals). A large place in the diet of this species is occupied by food taken from gulls, terns and other birds. The Pomarine Skua closely follows the birds flying by and if it notices prey in their beak, it pursues them until they release it from their beak. Often he manages to grab a fish thrown out by a seagull before it falls into the water. Vegetable food also plays a small role in the diet of the skua.

SUBORDER gulls (LARI)

FAMILY SCAUA (STERCORARIIDAE)

Skuas are primitive gulls. They are similar to real gulls, but differ from them in darker plumage, weak legs, a stronger beak and a pointed tail. In gulls, the tail is rounded, and in skuas, the middle pair of tail feathers is elongated.

In some species of skuas, some individuals are colored in light colors, and some in dark colors (morphism). Moreover, one nesting pair can be made up of differently colored individuals.

Skuas breed on the coasts at the highest latitudes of both hemispheres, but in the post-breeding season they can be found in the seas up to the equator and in the depths of the continents.

There are only 5 species of skuas, which make up 2 groups - great and small skuas.

There are 2 species in the group of great skuas. One of them - great skua(Stercorarius skua) - lives in both hemispheres. In the north it breeds in the Faroe Islands, in Iceland and Scotland, and in the south around Antarctica and at the southern tip of South America. During the period of migration, the northern form of the great skua flies beyond the equator to the South Atlantic, while the southern form never flies beyond the subantarctic zone. But the expedition of P. Scott saw her at the South Pole. The southern and northern forms of the great skua thus never meet together, their breeding times are opposite, but morphologically they are completely indistinguishable.

These are the largest of the skuas. The body length of these birds is about 60 cm, the wingspan is up to 1.5 m. Their tail is slightly pointed, the plumage color is mostly brown, but there are also light forms in the North Atlantic.

The Great Skua nests in colonies, rarely in separate pairs. The nest is usually in the form of a small depression in the soil among dry grass. In birds of the North Atlantic, eggs are laid in late May - early June. Clutch 2, rarely 1 brown spotted egg. Incubation lasts 28-30 days. If 2 eggs are incubated, the first chick is usually eaten or killed by the parents, or later fed to the second chick.

Pomarine Skua(S. pomarinus) - the largest in the group of small skuas. Body length 53-56 cm, wingspan 1.2 m. Coloring is either monotonous dark brown or two-tone: dark brown upperparts with a darker cap, whitish underparts. Tail with an elongated and twisted middle pair of tail feathers.

Distributed in the arctic tundra and on the islands of the Arctic Ocean in Europe, Asia and North America. Migrant. During migrations, it moves mainly along the coasts of the continents, reaching Australia, South Africa and South America. Especially many individuals concentrate in winter off the western coast of Africa. Young birds spend the first years of their lives here until they reach sexual maturity.

The Pomarine Skua builds nests near sea coasts or in the tundra near water bodies. Breeds in separate pairs. The nest is usually placed on a hummock and is a small depression in the soil lined with lichens, dry grass, and willow leaves. Sometimes the eggs lie simply on a moss pillow. The clutch contains 2 brownish eggs with dark spots. They are laid in June.

The male and female incubate for a little less than a month, starting with the first egg. When approaching the nest of the enemy, they very zealously attack him, diving from above with a cry. Arctic foxes, for example, cannot withstand such attacks and run away.

Pomarine skuas feed on a variety of animals - fish, small birds and their eggs, invertebrates, various garbage. They take prey from gulls, forcing them to regurgitate fish, which they catch right there in the air. But the main food of Pomarine skuas is lemmings. They swallow them whole, and the nests have stocks of lemmings (up to 10 or more animals). It was noted that Pomarine skuas do not nest in non-lemming years.

Arctic Skua(S. parasiticus) is slightly smaller than the average skua. Its wingspan is about 1 m, weight 400-600 g. This is also a dimorphic species, light and dark individuals are equally common. The protruding part of the middle tail feathers is half the length of the tail.

In the European North, the Arctic Skua is the most numerous, while the Long-tailed Skua predominates in the Siberian tundra. In general, like all skuas, the Arctic Skua is distributed throughout the north of the Holarctic, but it goes further south for nesting, and occasionally occurs in the deep regions of the continents during migrations. With us, he flew to the Ulyanovsk region, to the Caspian and Aral seas, in Transbaikalia. On the other hand, Soviet polar explorers saw Arctic Skua near the North Pole. The main migration routes run south along the ocean coasts, along which it reaches the southern extremities of the continents of the other hemisphere.

The Arctic Skua is omnivorous, but distinctly predatory and piracy. Consumes the food, which in this place most this year. Near colonies of seabirds, it takes prey from gulls and auks, feeds on their eggs and chicks. During the years of abundance of rodents in the inner tundra, it feeds almost exclusively on them. If there are no lemmings and voles, it preys on small birds - snow buntings, skates, wagtails, and even waders and chicks of white partridges. With a lack of animal feed, it can switch to berries - crowberries, cloudberries, lingonberries.

Long-tailed Skua(S. longicaudus) - the smallest of the skuas, its wingspan is about 8 cm, its weight is 250-400 g. It fully justifies its name, since its very long middle tail feathers protrude 2/3 of the length of the tail. There is only one pale morph in the Long-tailed Skua.

It nests in the tundra of the northern hemisphere, but its wintering area is somewhat different - only in the seas along the coasts of America and in the northern half of the Atlantic.

Skuas arrive from wintering grounds to nesting sites at the end of May or June. Soon one can observe their characteristic games in the air, accompanied by impetuous throws or lightning-fast flight, as well as various cries, most often similar to dog yapping. After a while, the birds start nest building. They nest in separate pairs, at a considerable distance from each other, and only in places in colonies.

Nests are made on dry soil in the form of a hole without any lining. As they incubate, a lining of lichens appears in the nest. Depending on the geographical location of the area, egg laying occurs on different dates in June and in the first half of July. The clutch usually contains 2 eggs. Their sizes: 50 - 60x37 - 42 mm.

Incubation begins after the laying of the first egg, so the chicks vary in size. Both parents incubate for 23 days. A bird free from incubation guards the nest, sitting somewhere nearby on a hillock or hummock. Parents actively protect the nesting site from various aliens.

Chicks at the age of three weeks fully fledge, but long before that they get out of the nest. In August, the juveniles fledge, and if food supplies in the area are exhausted, then by the end of August, skuas disappear.

Body length 46–51 cm, weight 600–900 g, wingspan 125–128 cm. This is a powerful, heavy bird, larger than Arctic Skua, but smaller than Great Skua. The two-colored beak is powerful, like that of a large seagull, the wings are relatively wide. Active flight resembles the flight of a large seagull with strong but leisurely wing beats, which are sometimes interrupted by short pauses. With a strong wind over the sea, these pauses are noticeably longer, and the flight becomes similar to the flight of a petrel. When diving, it tends to lower its large flight feathers lower than Arctic Skuas or Long-tailed Skuas do. In adult birds, the long middle tail feathers are rounded and slightly turned out (in the Arctic Skua they are pointed). There are two morphs: light is common, dark is rare (5-10%).

Description. From a distance, it resembles a great skua, which, however, is clearly larger, has a relatively larger head and shorter tail, and in all plumages shows bright white margins at the base of large flight feathers. Less active when taking food from other birds than the Arctic Skua, stopping the attack faster. At the same time, it often hunts smaller birds (up to size). Adult birds of a light morph have a dark brown cap on the head, the lower edge of which extends below the eyes. The cheeks and back of the neck are yellowish. The feathers of a dark stripe running across the chest have small light borders. The dark sides contrast with the white belly. Upperparts, underwing coverts, axillary feathers and undertail are solid brown. Above the wing, the white feathers of the primary flight feathers form a blurry white field in the shape of a crescent. From below, the white bases of the primary flight feathers form a white crescent, sometimes a second light crescent is visible on the base of the large covert feathers of the wing. The legs are dark, the toes and membranes are black.

Most of the young (in nesting and first winter plumage) birds have mainly brown plumage, with transverse streaks below and above. Some birds are unusually light or dark colored, but the coloration of this species is less variable than that of the Arctic Skua or Long-tailed Skua. The legs are light, gray-blue, the fingers and membranes are black. The powerful beak is light gray, with a contrasting black end, similar to the beak of a young one. The juvenile Arctic Skua has a less contrasting beak, with a less sharply marked dark end, the dark color sometimes reaching to the middle of the beak. In addition to the usual white field on the basis of the primary flight feathers, many young Pomarine Skuas have a second, parallel light field on the underside of the wing, which is formed by the light bases of the large wing coverts. When viewed from a distance, this "double field" is one of the key features that distinguishes the juvenile from most Arctic Skuas.

Some of the paler Arctic Skuas sometimes have a similar light field on their greater wing coverts, but this is never as pronounced as on the average. The head of a young Pomarine Skua is dark brown, without the paler neck of the Arctic Skua. The undertail is light, with black and white transverse streaks. The upperparts are dark brown, the rump feathers have narrow red borders. Like the Arctic Skua, the juvenile Pomarine Skua has three to eight white tufts of outer primaries on top of the wing. In contrast to the Short-tailed Skua, the tips of the primary flight feathers of the Middle Skua are black-brown, without light edges, or with barely visible edges. The juvenile Arctic Skua has distinct feathering at the ends of its primary flight feathers. Tail feathers are dark, with a lighter base. The central tail feathers protrude slightly (by 5–22 mm) beyond the cutoff of the tail, which is usually not visible from a distance. The downy chick is dark brown, the bottom is lighter, with a gray tint. The beak is gray with a dark tip. The legs are light blue.

Distribution, status. The nesting range covers the Arctic coasts of Eurasia and North America, in the European part of Russia it lives in the swampy tundra from the Kanin Peninsula and further to the east. Outside the nesting period, it mainly leads a marine lifestyle and very rarely flies far from the sea; found up to the coast of South Africa and Australia.

Lifestyle. Actively and aggressively defends its territory from other skuas and predators, sometimes attacking people. The male attracts the attention of the female by demonstration flights over the nesting territory. The density of settlements increases with an increase in the number of lemmings. The male and female build the nest together, which is usually a small hole without much lining. It usually contains 2 eggs, rarely 1 or 3, with dark brown or brown spots on a brown or olive background. They lay their eggs mainly in June, the incubation lasts 25–27 days. Both parents incubate and feed the chicks. The chicks stay at the nest for a week, they begin to fly at the age of 4–5 weeks.

During nesting time, it mainly feeds on small rodents, mainly lemmings and voles. The success of nesting depends on the number of lemmings. Hunts by taking off from some hill in the tundra, or looking for prey in flight. In addition to rodents, the diet includes small birds, eggs, fish, insects and carrion. Outside the nesting season, it feeds mainly on fish, from time to time it takes prey from other birds.

Pomarine Skua ( Stercorarius pomarinus)

Regular or Medium skua belongs to the skuas family. This is a northern bird, for its nesting it chooses places in the arctic tundra, which is located near the Northern Arctic Ocean along its coasts.

In addition to being drawn to the Arctic, he also feels quite free in tropical latitudes, preferring to stay near the ocean shores. Distributed in Europe, Asia and North America. The bird is quite large. For example, there are more than the average skua in the Atlantic great skua.

And his south polar counterpart prefers to attack petrels and penguins. Is there some more long-tailed skua, he is remarkable in that he has a very long tail. There are other species that also have their own characteristics of appearance, residence and character.

However, all skuas are pronounced predators, and this fact cannot but leave its mark on its behavior. Skuas can be seen not only over the abyss of the ocean, these birds generally lead a nomadic lifestyle. And all from the fact that they are looking for places where there are more rodents.

Skua feeding

Although it is generally accepted that the skua is a sea pirate, however, the bulk of its food is. They make up 80% of all that the bird manages to catch. Moreover, if there are a lot of lemmings, then skuas are not going to fly away somewhere, they are nearby and feed on these rodents. Go well as lunch and voles.

Yes, skuas do not cancel raids on the nests of penguins and gulls. But they also willingly eat fish and small birds. Skuas are not picky eaters. If there was a failure with the hunt, you can also eat insects, for example, pterostichs. If nothing suitable is found during the flights, the skua feeds on carrion.

Recently, these birds have realized that there is quite a lot of food near a person, so they can often be observed near fishing farms or fur farms. They do not shun fish waste on fishing boats. It is interesting that in the tropics these birds especially like to hunt flying fish, they don’t even have to hunt especially - the prey jumps out by itself.

Skua breeding and lifespan

Only during the mating season, skuas gather in small groups. In order to choose a place for a nest, a pair of birds searches for a long time for a suitable place among lawns, glades or among small islands in river backwaters. However, if nothing suitable is found, the nest can also be built on a steep bank.

Pictured is the Arctic Skua's nest

After the place is determined, the male begins his courtship. He puffs up the feathers on his throat, spreads his wings and shows his beauty in every possible way. The female cannot resist the onslaught of the handsome man, and after such performances, mating occurs.

It must be said that mating games are typical only for young skuas. The fact is that these are monogamous, therefore, having once chosen a mate for themselves, they no longer cheat on her throughout their lives. Because of this, an experienced male will not bother too much with wedding dances.

After mating, nest building begins, where eggs are laid. The clutch is incubated by both parents. After 25-30 days, the chicks begin to hatch. They are not born on the same day, but after a while. As a rule, the first chick is the healthiest and strongest.

Pictured is a skua with a chick

But the last one is very weak, he, most often, dies. However, if it so happened that the first chick died, then the parents will throw all their efforts into leaving a weak chick. In the first days, the parents regurgitate food and feed it to the chicks, and only after some time they begin to give coarser food, such as insects.

Then come small birds and rodents. Only at the end of summer are young skuas begin to leave the parental nest. They are already strong, trained, but their feathers will have a blurry color for a long time to come.

And only by the period of growing up (by 2-3 years) young skuas will acquire the final color of the feather. And yet, even with a bright color, the skua is not yet sexually mature. Such maturity occurs only by 6-7 years. This is not in vain, because the life expectancy of this bird is up to 40 years.

The great skua is the largest member of its family. This sea robber often attacks other birds and takes their prey from them.
Habitat. Distributed throughout Antarctica, as well as on the islands and ocean coasts of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Habitat.
Skua forever wanders over the open sea waters of the polar regions, and nests on the shores of Antarctica or on the northern coast of Europe, Asia, North America and adjacent islands. In the Northern Hemisphere, skuas often build their nests in coastal heather thickets.

Species: Great Skua – Stercorarius skua (Catharacta s.).
Family: Skuas.
Squad: Seagulls.
Class: Birds.
Subtype: Vertebrates.

Did you know?
Four species of skuas appear on the coasts of Western Europe. During the season of severe sea storms, many birds fly inland and can be seen in the sky over inland waters. Some of the birds, finding themselves in an unfamiliar natural conditions, perishes.
The Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) breeds on the northern coasts of Eurasia and America and winters in the Southern Hemisphere. In Eastern Europe, this protected raptor can be seen in summer and late autumn when it migrates south. This skua lives off air robbery, taking prey from other birds - most often puffins, terns and kittiwakes.
The South Polar Skua is the most numerous member of its family in the Southern Hemisphere. Its rich menu includes not only chicks of petrels and penguins, but also offal from ships.
The middle tail feathers of the long-tailed skua are almost a quarter of a meter longer than all the others and sometimes reach half the length of the bird's body. Representatives of this species make very long migrations, flying from the Arctic to the waters off the coast of Antarctica.

Reproduction.
During the breeding season, skuas breed in small colonies. For nesting, they often choose coastal, overgrown with grass or heather lawns or islands in river estuaries. Skua nests can also often be found on high steep banks. Having landed, the married couple looks for a convenient place for the nest, after which the male proceeds to courtship: he proudly walks in front of his girlfriend, now and then flapping his wings and puffing up his feathers on his throat. After mating, the couple dig a hole in the ground and line it with moss and grass. Typically, the female lays two eggs, and both parents take turns incubating the clutch. After 23-30 days, chicks hatch from the eggs at intervals of several days. If the older chick is strong and healthy, then the younger one most often dies, but if the older one dies, the parents diligently nurse the younger one. The chicks are covered with dark baby fluff. At first, both parents feed them with semi-digested and regurgitated food, and then they begin to supplement the diet with insects and other small living creatures. At the end of summer, the young leave the nests. At this time, juvenile skuas still wear a “juvenile” light brown plumage with dark streaks.

Lifestyle.
Skua is a real air ace, capable of soaring over the sea for hours in ascending air currents. Due to the presence of swimming membranes on the fingers, he can sit on the water and rest on its surface. Outside of the breeding season, the Skua leads the life of a lone pirate, hunting for robbery and devoting almost all his time to searching for free food. Skua is omnivorous, but the basis of its diet is fish, which it does not catch itself, but takes from gulls, terns and boobies when they return from hunting. Having noticed a bird with a fish in its beak, the skua instantly attacks, forcing it to drop the catch, deftly grabs it in the air and flies away. During the nesting season, skuas often attack colonies of other birds and steal eggs or chicks from nests; young penguins and gulls often become their victims. On land, they catch lemmings, eat carrion or garbage left by people, and in the summer they feed on insects and berries. Undigested remnants of food - bones, feathers, wool and claws - skuas from time to time burp in the form of pellets. Outside of the breeding season, birds rarely land on the ground, which they walk very slowly and clumsily.

Great Skua - Stercorarius skua (Catharacta s.).
Body length: 53-66 cm.
Wingspan: 125-140 cm.
Weight: 1.5-2.2 kg.
Number of eggs in clutch: 1-2.
Incubation period: 23-30 days.
Food: fish, lemmings, birds, carrion, garbage.

Structure.
Plumage. All plumage is dark brown with the exception of white stripes on the wings.
Head. The round head is covered with short brown feathers.
Beak. The upper part of the dark beak is longer than the lower part and curved down like a hook.
Tail. The short tail opens like a fan in flight.
Eyes. Round dark eyes are located on the sides of the head.
Legs. The short legs are covered with dark brown scales.
Wings. Wide wings allow the bird to plan in the air for a long time.
Fingers. Three fingers facing forward are connected by a swimming membrane.

related species.
The skuas family includes seven species of birds that look like gulls (the only difference is the darker plumage of skuas). All members of the family live in the subpolar regions of the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Skuas spend most of their time in the air, wandering over the expanses of the open ocean, and nest on the shores of the Arctic and Antarctic.