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To the Beauty of Birds

The Brown Skua, Antarctic Skua, Southern Great Skua, Southern Skua, or Hākoakoa (Maori)Stercorarius antarcticus is a large seabird that breeds in the subantartic and Antartic zones and moves further north when not breeding. Its taxonomy is highly complex and a matter of dispute, with some splitting it into two or three species: Falkland Skua (S. antarcticus), Tristan Skua (S. hamiltoni), and Subantarctic Skua (S. lönnbergi). To further confuse, it hybridizes with both the South Polar and Chilean Skuas, and the entire group have been considered subspecies s of the Great Skua, a species otherwise restricted to the Northern Hemizphere. It feeds on fish (often via kleptoparasitism), small mammals, scraps, chicks, eggs and carrion. This is the heaviest species of skua and rivals the largest gulls as the heaviest species in the shorebird order although not in length or wingspan. Wikipedia

These photos were taken on a pelagic trip out of Stewart Island.

Brown Skua

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