South Polar Skua
Stercorarius maccormicki
- Family
- Jaegers and Skuas (Stercorariidae)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Overview
The south polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki) is a large seabird in the skua family, Stercorariidae. An older name for the bird is MacCormick's skua, after explorer and naval surgeon Robert McCormick, who first collected the type specimen. This species and the other large skuas, such as the great skua, are sometimes placed in a separate genus Catharacta.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Diet: Fish, penguin eggs and chicks.
How to identify it
- Bulky brown seabird with white flashes at the base of the primaries
- Pale birds have a pale head and body
- Raids penguin colonies for eggs and chicks
Voice
Harsh calls.
Where to see it
- Antarctic Peninsula
- Ross Sea
Destination guides featuring this bird
Similar species
- Brown Skua
- larger and warmer brown
Range and habitat
Breeds coastal Antarctica, especially Ross Sea; also South Shetland and South Orkney islands (off Antarctic Peninsula); winters to northern offshore waters and North Indian Ocean: mostly clockwise to Japanese and Korean waters and Gulf Stream of eastern USA, then southwestern Canada to northern Baja California and northwestern Africa.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Countries
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: South polar skua
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
