South Polar Skua

South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki) Charadriiformes/Laridae

An adult bird reaches up to 140cm with its wingspan. South Polar Skuas build nests on rocks overlooking penguin rookeries and snatch penguin eggs and chicks. They sometimes take the catch that other seabirds have hunted. During seasons other than summer, they feed on zooplankton.

The skuas breed only on the Antarctic Continent and surrounding islands. They spend the winter in the northern hemisphere and return to Antarctica before the end of October. A pair lay 2 eggs from mid November to late December. The chicks fledge in a couple of months and they leave for the northern hemisphere in May.

A family of the South Poloar Skua

Source:	Nankyokukai no kaichorui, kikyakurui, kujirarui. National Institute of Polar Research. 1983.
	(Sea Birds, Seals and Whales in the Southern Ocean ;Japanese)