Bird Album
Great Skua
Stercorarius skua (Brünnich, 1764)
1.3 kgWeight
The great skua (Stercorarius skua), sometimes known by the name bonxie in Britain, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae.
Busiest months: August–September · Most records: United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain
Where and when it's recorded
Great Skua has been recorded at 288 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 36 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Estaca de Bares – Observatorio de aves y entornoSpain1,744 records
- PN Sintra-Cascais – Cabo RasoPortugal1,656 records
- PN Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina – Cabo de São VicentePortugal1,514 records
More places
- Fair IsleUnited Kingdom954 records
- Bridges of RossIreland787 records
- Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður NP – JökulsárlónIceland773 records
- Desembocadura del Guadalhorce – ÁreaSpain489 records
- Whitburn Coastal ParkUnited Kingdom424 records
- Flamborough HeadUnited Kingdom416 records
- Spurn Bird Observatory Recording AreaUnited Kingdom399 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The great skua (Stercorarius skua), sometimes known by the name bonxie in Britain, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is roughly the size of a herring gull. It mainly eats fish caught at the sea surface or taken from other birds.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Great Skua?
The Great Skua weighs around 1.3 kg.
Where does the Great Skua live?
Its breeding range: Palearctic: Iceland, Faroe Islands, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Svalbard (north of Norway), and northwestern Russia to Novaya Zemlya. It is most often recorded in United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain.
When is the best time to see the Great Skua?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in August and September (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Great Skua endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Great Skua as Least Concern.
What does the Great Skua eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Great Skua in?
It belongs to the family Skuas (Stercorariidae), order Charadriiformes.
At a glance
- Weight
- 1.3 kg
- Habitat
- Ocean
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Feeds in the air
- Migration
- Migratory
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 395 mm
- Tail
- 146 mm
- Bill
- 54 mm
- Tarsus
- 62 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Palearctic: Iceland, Faroe Islands, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Svalbard (north of Norway), and northwestern Russia to Novaya Zemlya
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Skuas Stercorariidae
- Genus
- Stercorarius
Other birds in the genus Stercorarius
Long-tailed JaegerStercorarius longicaudus
Parasitic JaegerStercorarius parasiticus
Pomarine JaegerStercorarius pomarinus
Chilean SkuaStercorarius chilensis
Brown SkuaStercorarius antarcticus
South Polar SkuaStercorarius maccormicki
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Janne Asp. ↗
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