SOUTH POLAR SKUA Stercorarius maccormicki

Whilst only about 8000 pairs of this species breed on Antarctic coasts, it is reasonably widespread. However it has one of the furthest migrations to the Northern Hemisphere frequenting such areas as Alaska, Greenland and Japan, as well as the Bay of Bengal and the Seychelles. Because it is polymorphic, and darker birds are very similar to Great Skua, most of its movements were unknown until relatively recently. It occurs in the North Atlantic during migrations, and can be found in UK waters, (one last year on a Scilly pelagic) as well as Madeira, the Canaries, and Iberia.

Taken Devil Island, Antarctica March 2005
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