skua

Dark-coloured gull-like seabird, living in Arctic and Antarctic waters. Skuas can grow up to 60 cm/2 ft long, with long, well-developed wings and short, stout legs; in colour they are greyish above and white below. They are aggressive scavengers, and seldom fish for themselves but force gulls to disgorge their catch, and also eat chicks of other birds. Skuas are in the family Stercorariidae, order Charadriiformes.

The largest species is the great skua Stercorarius skua of the North Atlantic, 60 cm/2 ft long and dark brown on the upper parts.

Antarctic skuas Catharacta antarctica nest near the penguin colonies they feed on, and are as aggressive in defending their own nests as they are in defending their local penguin colony from other predators. They fly north during the Antarctic winter.