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Great Skua gallery
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Records through the year
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Distribution
Great Skua   Stercorarius skua
This species is relatively new to the fauna of Svalbard, where the first breeding record on Spitsbergen was made in 1976 and on Bjørnøya in 1970. Now the Great Skua is found scattered over the whole island group. In some areas it is more numerous, usually in the neighbourhood of large bird cliffs. It behaves as a typical bird of prey that lives on other seabirds. The breeding population is increasing and now numbers more than 600 pairs.

Features: 50-58 cm, 1,1-1,8 kg. ♂=♀. The young resemble the adults, but are more evenly coloured, lack the speckled pattern, often have less white in the wing patches and lack the slightly projecting central tail feathers. On the breeding grounds can often be heard a short coarse «gokk» that is repeated. Also gives loud calls during courtship and display flight.


Breeding: Nests on flat ground, often on moss-covered terrain out on islands or on flat ground not far from bird cliffs. Solitary breeding pairs seem to be more seldom than scattered gatherings, where several pairs nest in an area. Normally lays two brown eggs in a deep nest hollow of moss.


Observations
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  • Home
  • Hjem
  • Bird observations
    • Recent photos
  • Species
    • Regular breeding birds >
      • Pink-footed Goose
      • Barnacle Goose
      • Brent Goose
      • Common Eider
      • King Eider
      • Long-tailed Duck
      • Red-throated Diver
      • Northern Fulmar
      • Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan
      • Ringed Plover
      • Ruddy Turnstone
      • Dunlin
      • Purple Sandpiper
      • Grey Phalarope
      • Arctic Skua
      • Great Skua
      • Ivory Gull
      • Black-legged Kittiwake
      • Glaucous Gull
      • Great Black-backed Gull
      • Arctic Tern
      • Brünnich's Guillemot
      • Common Guillemot
      • Razorbill
      • Little Auk
      • Atlantic Puffin
      • Black Guillemot
      • Snow Bunting
    • Scarce breeding birds >
      • Common Teal
      • Northern Pintail
      • Common Scoter
      • Great Northern Diver
      • Northern Gannet
      • European Golden Plover
      • Sanderling
      • Red Knot
      • Red-necked Phalarope
      • Long-tailed Skua
      • Sabine's Gull
      • European Herring Gull
      • Lesser Black-backed Gull
      • Common Gull
      • Northern Wheatear
      • Redwing
      • Meadow Pipit
      • Lapland Bunting
    • Annual non-breeders >
      • Gyrfalcon
      • Snowy Owl
      • Pectoral Sandpiper
      • Common Redshank
      • Pomarine Skua
      • Ross's Gull
      • Black-headed Gull
      • Iceland Gull
      • Whooper Swan
      • Bean Goose
      • Greater White-fronted Goose
      • Greylag Goose
      • Snow Goose
      • Canada Goose
      • Cackling Goose
      • Eurasian Wigeon
      • Mallard
      • Tufted Duck
      • Common Goldeneye
      • Steller's Eider
      • Red-breasted Merganser
      • Eurasian Oystercatcher
      • Common Snipe
      • Whimbrel
      • Barn Swallow
      • White Wagtail
      • Bohemian Waxwing
      • Common Blackbird
      • Fieldfare
      • Song Trush
      • Common Redpoll
      • Arctic Redpoll
  • About
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