South Polar Skuas don’t really face any natural predators, but they have low success rates at breeding which makes maintaining their population difficult. On breeding grounds, some feed mainly on the eggs and young of penguins, and on carrion around penguin colonies. The south polar skua (Catharacta maccormicki) is a species of seabird found only in Endless Ocean: Blue World. 7 Superlative South Polar Skua Facts. These dietary differences In past, sometimes considered conspecific with all three congeners. Adults have both dark and light morphs. Sixty-six two-egg nests were The South Polar skua is, alongside the southern giant petrel, a top avian predator in the Antarctic. BY SOUTH of the South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki) consists ot pen- guin eggs (fig. 3. The skua population was at maximum 98 pairs, and the Adglie Penguin population was some 43,000 pairs. Nesting. New Hampshire South Polar Skua 9/6/2018 from Rye . Adult Adélie Penguins can defend themselves so are safe from Skua attack. "This bird has a wingspan of around four feet and eats penguin eggs or chicks. The eggs and chicks of other seabirds, primarily penguins, are an important food source for most skua species during the nesting season. South Polar Skua breeding populations in the Ross Sea assessed from demonstrated relationship with Ade´lie Penguin numbers Deborah J. Wilson1 • Philip O’B. In the southern oceans and Antarctica region, some skua species (especially the south polar skua) will readily scavenge carcasses at breeding colonies of both penguins and pinnipeds. The light morph is pale gray on the head, neck, and underparts. 1. 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 Southern Hemisphere skuas, such as the great skua, are sometimes placed in a separate genus Catharacta The upperparts are darker, with narrow, whitish streaks. Lyver2 • Terry C. Greene3 • Amy L. Whitehead4 • Katie M. Dugger5 • Brian J. Karl2 • James R. F. Barringer2 • Roger McGarry6 • Annie M. Pollard7 • David G. Ainley8 (1988) concluded that this congener is probably the most widespread PCB in the environment, and its predominance in the resi- dues of such a wide-ranging species like the South Polar Skua supports this conclusion. As earlier studies had suggested, South Polar Skuas fed mostly at sea on fish, and Brown Skuas fed mostly on penguin eggs and chicks. Historical records of organochlorine residue levels in South Polar Skua eggs … 2. SOUTH POLAR SKUAS FRITZ TRILLMICH ABSTR•CT.--Territorial and foraging behavior of the South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccor- micki) were studied in 1971-72 at the Cape Hallett Adglie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) rookery. It breeds south of 60° in Antarctica, including the Ross Sea region, which as the Ross Dependency is territory claimed by New Zealand. In Antarctic, some nest close to penguin colonies, feeding on eggs and chicks. Focardi et al. Frequent hybridization with Brown Skuas C. antarctica lonnbergi occurs where the breeding ranges of the two coincide, the mixed pairs usually if not always comprising a male South Polar paired with a female Brown Skua#R.Monotypic. feeding ecology of South Polar (Catharacta maccormicki) and Brown (C. lonnbergi) skuas near Palmer Station, Antarctica. The South Polar Skua looks like a bulky, broad-winged gull with a short, wedge-shaped tail. In the southern oceans and Antarctica region, some skua species (especially the south polar skua) will readily scavenge carcasses at breeding colonies of both penguins … However, while the penguins are nesting, and before the Skuas lay their own eggs, the Skuas work in pairs, one will fly overhead to distract the Adélie and the other will swoop in and snatch the egg or chick as the penguin stretches to peck at the decoy. They wait for their chance, then snatch eggs or chicks from their parents. The dark morph is uniformly dark grayish-brown above with a pale yellowish nape. South Polar Skua females are larger than the males. This was on the September 4, 2018 eight hour pelagic sponsored by NH Audubon, run by Jon Woolf and with Steve Mirick as annouoncer. The south polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki) is a large seabird in the skua family, Stercorariidae. Siblicidal brood reduction in South Polar Skuas E. C. YOUNG C. D. MILLAR School of Biological Sciences University of Auckland Private Bag 92 019 Auckland Abstract Siblicide in the South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki) was studied at Cape Crozier, Ross Island, Antarctica during the 1993/94 austral summer. South Polar Skuas are the greyest members of the Skua species. After many trips finally a South Polar Skua was identified in NH. The eggs and chicks of other seabirds, primarily penguins, are an important food source for most skua species during the nesting season. l), penguin chicks, krill lost by feeding penguins during regurgitation, and fish, often of the genus Pleurogramrmz (Young 1963), and at certain rookeries, remains of penguins …