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Our Expert Says… "Like many opportunistic species, skuas show intelligence in their behaviors. They look out for inexperienced penguin parents who may be squabbling over nesting stones and grab eggs while they are distracted. Although creching helps protect the older penguin chicks, again skuas have been seen deliberately chasing the creche, looking for any chicks that are weak or injured that they can pick off."
The Brown Skua is also known as the Antarctic Skua, Subantarctic skua, or Falklands Skua! There is some controversy among naturalists about whether these are distinct species or not, but as the debate is very technical and rather scientific we will just leave them to it and talk about this commonly-encountered Antarctic bird.
Although not particularly large in terms of length or wingspan, the Antarctic skua is a heavy bird, weighing in on average at more than 1.8kg (4lb). They use this weight to good effect, often stealing food from other species. Rather like gulls, they have a varied diet that includes fish, scavenged carrion, eggs, and most infamously, penguin chicks (as well as chicks of other seabirds).
Undoubtedly intelligent (a study in 2016 showed they could recognize different individual humans, for example) they are opportunistic and very often be seen close by penguin rookeries during the breeding season. They wait for the moment when a nest is left and pounce on the unattended eggs or chicks, using their large muscle mass to fly quickly away with their hapless prey clutched in their powerful bill.
One of the reasons penguins may abandon their chicks is due to disturbance (either by predators or by people). It’s for this reason that your expert Antarctic naturalist guides will always ensure that your shore excursions don’t disturb any nesting species.
You’ll find good populations of brown or Antarctic skuas on South Georgia Island, the Falklands, and throughout the subantarctic islands and antarctic peninsula.
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