Great Skua
The Great Skua is a large seabird in the skua family. The name skua is believed to originate from the Faroese skúvur and is the only known bird name to originate from the Faroes that has come into regular use elsewhere. In the UK, it is sometimes known by the name Bonxie, a Shetland name of Norse origin.
The adult Great Skua is streaked greyish brown with a black cap whilst the juvenile is a warmer brown and unstreaked below. Its tail is short and blunt. The flight is direct and powerful. Distinguishing this skua from the other north Atlantic skuas (Arctic Skua, Pomarine Skua and Long-tailed Skua) is relatively straightforward. The Herring Gull size, massive barrel chest and white wing flashes of this bird are distinctive even at a distance. Identification of this Great Skua is only complicated when it is necessary to distinguish it from the closely related large southern hemisphere skuas.
The Great Skua breeds in Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands and the Scottish islands with a few on mainland Scotland and in the north west of Ireland. It breeds on coastal moorland and rocky islands and like other skuas it will fly at the head of a human or other intruder approaching its nest.
The Great Skua is a migrant and winters at sea in the Atlantic Ocean and regularly reaches north American waters.
The Great Skua eats mainly fish, birds, eggs, carrion, offal, rodents, rabbits and occasionally berries. It will often obtain fish by robbing gulls, terns and even Gannets of their catches. It will also directly attack and kill other seabirds up to the size of a Great Black-backed Gull. Like most other skua species, it continues this piratical behaviour throughout the year but shows less agility and more brute force than the smaller skuas when it harasses its victims.
Date: 3rd June 2015
Location: Tjörnes peninsula, north Iceland
The adult Great Skua is streaked greyish brown with a black cap whilst the juvenile is a warmer brown and unstreaked below. Its tail is short and blunt. The flight is direct and powerful. Distinguishing this skua from the other north Atlantic skuas (Arctic Skua, Pomarine Skua and Long-tailed Skua) is relatively straightforward. The Herring Gull size, massive barrel chest and white wing flashes of this bird are distinctive even at a distance. Identification of this Great Skua is only complicated when it is necessary to distinguish it from the closely related large southern hemisphere skuas.
The Great Skua breeds in Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands and the Scottish islands with a few on mainland Scotland and in the north west of Ireland. It breeds on coastal moorland and rocky islands and like other skuas it will fly at the head of a human or other intruder approaching its nest.
The Great Skua is a migrant and winters at sea in the Atlantic Ocean and regularly reaches north American waters.
The Great Skua eats mainly fish, birds, eggs, carrion, offal, rodents, rabbits and occasionally berries. It will often obtain fish by robbing gulls, terns and even Gannets of their catches. It will also directly attack and kill other seabirds up to the size of a Great Black-backed Gull. Like most other skua species, it continues this piratical behaviour throughout the year but shows less agility and more brute force than the smaller skuas when it harasses its victims.
Date: 3rd June 2015
Location: Tjörnes peninsula, north Iceland
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Also in: North east Iceland
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