Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus

Linnaeus, 1758

Key Facts

Measurements	Length: 44 cm    |  Wingspan: 118 cm    |  Weight: 450 g
Identification Tips	View pictures from the Crossley ID Guide , or a BTO video guide to this and similar species , or listen to sound-clips from Xeno-Canto
World Distribution	BREEDS: n Eurasia, n North America, WINTERS: southern oceans
Found in	Coastal tundra, in winter seacoasts
Diet	Summer, mostly birds, small mammals, insects, Winter, fish, mostly by piracy from other birds
Scientific name from	L.: stercus=dung + -arius=belonging to and L.: parasiticus=parasitic
Subspecies	Monotypic
TitBit	The Arctic Skua is an avian pirate, constantly harassing other seabirds for their recent catches, their consummate aerial dexterity inspired the name for the RAF's first naval dive-bomber, the Blackburn Skua.

Population Trends & Distribution

Population Trends	from the Seabird Monitoring Programme
Distribution Maps	from the Atlas Mapstore
British Population Size
Summer:	785 Pairs (535 to 1550 ) in 2015     Note: Probably an overestimate
First Record	1713
Current Conservation Status	RED because Recent Severe Breeding Population Decline,
Past Assessments	2015-2020 RED 2009-2014 RED 2002-2007 GREEN 1996-2001 GREEN
Historical Trends	1800-49 1850-99 1900-39 1940-69 1969-95 1996-2020
Listed on the Annexes of	Bern(III)
European Population Size	66 thousand pairs (54 to 83 thousand pairs)
European Population Status	Habitats Directive Report
European Distribution Map	European Breeding Bird Atlas

Migration & Movements

First Arrivals by	27 March
Spring Migration	typically late March to early May
Autumn Migration	typically early July to late November
View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report

Breeding & Survival

-- Productivity and Nesting Success
View latest trends from the Nest Record Scheme
Number of Broods	1
Egg Size	58 x 40 mm    Weight = 48.0 g (of which 6 % is shell)
Clutch Size	2 eggs
Incubation Period	25 - 28 days | by Male + Female
Fledging Period	25 - 30 days | as Altricial, downy
-- Survival and Longevity
Maximum Age from Ringing	25 years 10 months 24 days (set in 2003)
Typical Lifespan	12 years with breeding typically at 4 years
Adult Survival	0.886
Juvenile Survival	0.680 (in First-Year)
View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Biometrics

Ring Size	E
Wing Length
Adults	328.9 ± 8.3   |   Range 314 - 343 mm, N =35
Juveniles	Insufficient Data
Males	Insufficient Data
Females	Insufficient Data
Feather measurements and photos on featherbase
Body Weight
Adults	416.4 ± 37.93   |   Range 360.0 - 476.0 g , N =36
Juveniles	Insufficient Data
Males	Insufficient Data
Females	Insufficient Data

Other names

Also known as Parasitic Jaeger
For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name
Gaelic: Fàsgadair	Welsh: Sgiwen y Gogledd	Catalan: paràsit cuapunxegut
Czech: chaluha príživná	Danish: Almindelig Kjove	Dutch: Kleine Jager
Estonian: söödikänn	Finnish: merikihu	French: Labbe parasite
German: Schmarotzerraubmöwe	Hungarian: ékfarkú halfarkas	Icelandic: Kjói
Irish: Meirleach Artach	Italian: Labbo	Latvian: isastes klijkaija
Lithuanian: smailiauodegis plešikas	Norwegian: Tyvjo	Polish: wydrzyk ostrosterny
Portuguese: mandrião-parasítico / moleiro-pequeno	Spanish: Págalo parásito	Swedish: kustlabb
More bird names from Ethno-ornithology World Atlas

More information

Books and Monographs

• Phillips, R.A. 2001 BWP Update 3:25-41
• Furness, R.W. 1987 The skuas Poyser, Calton [598.614 FUR]
• O'Donald, P. 1983 The arctic skua Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

See also

• Wikipedia entry
• Birdlife species page
• Avibase species page
• NBN Atlas species page
• Birds of the World species account (subscription required)
• Search Google Scholar for research papers