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Stercorarius pomarinus

(pomatorhine skua)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Afrikaans:

Knoopstertroofmeeu, Knopstertroofmeeu

Common Names in Armenian:

[mijin Tzovahen Voror ]

Common Names in Basque:

Marikoi Isatsbihur

Common Names in Breton:

Ar Sparfell-Vor Lost Loa

Common Names in Catalan:

Carregada, Par

Common Names in Czech:

Chaluha Pomo, Chaluha Pomoransk

Common Names in Danish:

Mellemkjove

Common Names in Dutch:

Middelste Jager

Common Names in English:

gull hunter, gull-chaser, jaeger gull, jiddy hawk, marlinespike, Pomarine Jaeger, Pomarine Skua, pomatorhine skua, pomerine jaeger, pomerine skua, whip-tail

Common Names in Esperanto:

Lar^gvosta Rabmevo

Common Names in Estonian:

Laisaba-

Common Names in Finnish:

Leve

Common Names in French:

labbe pomarin

Common Names in Galician:

Palleira Pomarina

Common Names in German:

Spatelraubm, Spatelraubmöwe

Common Names in Greenlandic:

Eshungak

Common Names in Haitian Creole French:

Lab Pirat

Common Names in Hebrew:

חמסן רחב-אברה

Common Names in Hungarian:

Sz

Common Names in Inuktitut:

Eshungak

Common Names in Irish:

Meirleach Mara

Common Names in Italian:

Stercorario mezzano

Common Names in Japanese:

Touzokukamome, トウゾクカモメ

Common Names in Latin:

Stercorarius pomarinus

Common Names in Latvian:

Melna Kaija

Common Names in Lithuanian:

Bukauodegis Ple

Common Names in Maltese:

Ciefa Ta' Denbha

Common Names in Northern Sami:

Polarh

Common Names in Norwegian:

Bredhalejo

Common Names in Polish:

Platkon, Wydrzyk Teposterny

Common Names in Portuguese:

Gaivota-Rapineira-Pomarina, Moleiro-Pomarino

Common Names in Portuguese (Brazil):

Gaivota-Rapineira-Pomarina, Mandri

Common Names in Romansh:

Muetta Mesauna

Common Names in Russian:

Cредний помрник, Sredny Pomornik, Поморник средний

Common Names in Scots:

Fasgadair Donn

Common Names in Slovak:

Pomorn

Common Names in Slovenian:

Lopatasta Govnacka

Common Names in Spanish:

Págalo pomarino, Salteador pomarino

Common Names in Spanish (Argentine):

Salteador Grande

Common Names in Spanish (Dominican Republic):

Pagalo Pomarino

Common Names in Spanish (Mexico):

Salteador Pomarino

Common Names in Spanish (Uruguay):

Salteador Pomarino

Common Names in Swahili:

Skua Pomarina

Common Names in Swedish:

Bredstj, Bredstjärtad labb

Common Names in Valencian:

Carregada

Common Names in Welsh:

Sgiwen Frech

Description

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Physical Description

Adult : Bill: Shape : stout Body: Size: large.Adult Breeding Season : Head : Cap: blackish Bill: Shape: stout Body: Size: large Upperparts: dark sooty-brown.Adult Breeding Season Dark Phase : Head: Cap: blackish Color: yellowish wash Bill: Shape: stout Body: Size: large Underparts: dark, sooty-brown Upperparts: dark sooty-brown.Adult Breeding Season Pale Phase: Head: Cap: blackish Bill: Shape: stout Neck: Collar : white Body: Belly: smudged or barred with dusky Breast: band of dusky barring Sides: band of dusky barring Size: large Underparts: white Upperparts: dark sooty-brown.Adult Light Morph : Face : Cheeks: yellowish wash over chocolate brown Bill: Shape: hooked Neck: Nape: yellowish wash over chocolate brown Body: Back: chocolate-brown Chest: dark band Wings : Secondaries: chocolate-brown Tail: chocolate-brown Shape: 2 long central feathers at right angles to other feathers.Adult Winter: Head: Cap: blackish Bill: gray or horn-colored with black tip Shape: stout Neck: indistinct dusky barring Body: Back: scaled or barred with dull buffy Breast: indistinct dusky barring Sides: indistinct dusky barring Size: large Legs : Foot Color: black Leg Color: black Tarsus: bluish Tail: Undertail Coverts: broadly barred with white and dusky Uppertail Coverts: broadly barred with white and dusky.Immature: Head: Cap: no dark cap Bill: gray or horn-colored with black tip Shape: stout Neck: indistinct dusky barring Body: Back: scaled or barred with dull buffy Breast: indistinct dusky barring Sides: indistinct dusky barring Size: large Underparts: heavy dusky barring Legs: Foot Color: black Leg Color: black Tarsus: bluish Wings: Linings : barred with buffy Tail: Undertail Coverts: broadly barred with white and dusky Uppertail Coverts: broadly barred with white and dusky.

Color:

Adult light morph : Central tail feathers elongated and spatulate · Heavy pale-based bill · Black cap covers eye and crosses chin · Yellow area below cap · White nape and chin · Very dark upperparts · White underparts with dark mottled breastband, flanks, and undertail coverts · White patch at base of primaries; diffuse on underside and along the shafts from the upperside

Adult dark morph: Central tail feathers elongated and spatulate · Heavy pale-based bill · Entirely dark plumage except for white bases of primaries

Juvenile : Rounded , central tail feathers barely project beyond rest of tail · Upperparts dark with pale edgings · Primaries dark with pale shaft streaks on outer 5-7 primaries · Head , body, and wing linings barred-belly may be pale · Uppertail coverts barred black and white

Subadult : Variable; gradually acquires adult plumage · Occurs in both dark and light color morphs · Best identified by tail feather shape, size, and bill shape

Size/Age/Growth

About 20 to 23 inches long, with a wingspan of 48 to 48 inches. Adults weigh about 22.4 ounces .

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,869 meters (0 to 12,694 feet).[1]

Ecology: This species is marine outside the breeding season , remaining somewhat coastal, especially in upwelling regions of the tropics and subtropics. Whilst breeding it specialises on catching lemmings which frequently constitute over 90% of their diet , also feeding on young waders and gamebirds, bird eggs , carrion . In winter it takes fish, sometimes by kleptoparasitism , small seabirds, and scavenges on carrion. Breeding begins in June at scattered sites across the tundra where lemming concentrations are high. Individuals are highly territorial . Outside the breeding season it migrates south including long migrations over land1.

[2].

List of Habitats :

Biology

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Diet

Mostly fish and carrion , with some small mammals and birds.

Reproduction

Migration

Migratory

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Stercorarius pomarinus (Temminck, 1815)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 17-Jul-2007

Similar Species

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Parasitic Jaeger, Sout Polar Skua

Members of the genus Stercorarius

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 14 species and subspecies in this genus:

S. antarcticus (Brown Skua) · S. antarcticus antarcticus (Antarctic Skua) · S. antarcticus hamiltoni (Tristan Da Cunha Skua) · S. chilensis (Chilean Skua) · S. longicaudus (Long-Tailed Jaeger) · S. longicaudus longicaudus (Long-Tailed Jaeger) · S. longicaudus pallescens (Eastern Long-Tailed Jaeger) · S. lonnbergi (Brown Skua) · S. maccormicki (Antarctic Jaeger) · S. parasiticus (Richardsons Jaeger) · S. pomarinus (Pomatorhine Skua) · S. skua (Northern Skua) · S. skua skua (Great Skua) · S. sp. (Jaeger Sp.)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 26, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Mean = 215.250 meters (706.201 feet), Standard Deviation = 471.620 based on 1,553 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
  2. BirdLife International 2009. Stercorarius pomarinus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 05 February 2012. [back]
Last Revised: 7/14/2012