Skua

For skua, a short but large beak covered with skin is characteristic. At the tip it is slightly flattened, and rounded at the base. The upper part of the beak is hook-likely bent downward, and the lower one forms a recess to which the upper one is attached. Small and thin nostrils are located far ahead. The claws are very sharp and curved. The wings are long and thin, and at the ends look sharp. The tail has a rounded shape and consists of twelve feathers. The skua have dark gray plumage, which looks the same, both in summer and in winter.

Most of the species inhabit the polar regions near the salt water bodies . Skuas usually live in pairs or singly. In the mating period, they often form groups or even entire colonies . They can fly very fast and make sudden air maneuvers. On earth, their movement, however, is somewhat awkward. Skoridae nest as a rule on rocky islands. Due to the inability to dive deep, to the skua, which they catch independently, are only fish that swim near the surface. However, skuas often simply take prey from other birds, mainly from gulls and terns . As soon as these birds caught the fish, the skua attacked them, using their beak , claws and wings, until they abandoned their prey, even if they had already half-swallowed it. Before the fish falls to the ground or into the water, the skua catches it in the air. In addition, the food of skuas includes eggs , young chicks, small rodents and mollusks .

Skua skies nest off the coast and lay two speckled eggs . During the long hatching and nursing of chicks, parents fiercely protect their offspring from real or imaginary enemies.

Skorars are usually divided into two genera. Smaller species are attributed to the genus Stercorarius , while larger ones are attributed to the genus Catharacta . This separation does not, however, have a biological basis, since some species arose as a result of hybridization of representatives of both genera. For some species, there is no consensus about which genus they belong to.

Genus Lesser Skuas ( Stercorarius )

• Long-tailed Skua ( Stercorarius longicaudus )
• Short-tailed Skua ( Stercorarius parasiticus )
• Middle Skua ( Stercorarius pomarinus )

Genus Great Skuas ( Catharacta )

• Chilean skua ( Catharacta chilensis ) or ( Stercorarius chilensis )
• South Polar Skua ( Catharacta maccormicki ) or ( Stercorarius maccormicki )
• Antarctic skua ( Catharacta antarctica ) or ( Stercorarius antarcticus )
• Great Skua ( Catharacta skua ) or ( Stercorarius skua )

• Skua / / Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.