Skua taxonomy has long been the subject of debate, and there are a number of different classifications.  While some would lump the Brown Skua group, which includes the Subantartic or Brown Skua and the Falkland and Tristan Skuas, the latter two also collectively known as the Southern Skua -- with the Great Skua of the North Atlantic, most taxonomists now favor treating this group as a separate species or possibly even two or three different species. In any event, while it has long been suspected that some of these "Brown Skuas" may wander into the western North Atlantic at least occasionally, there been no irrefutable proof.  The recent reports of DNA evidence supporting the occurrence of two different individuals (which were reported to be Brown Skuas) within the last year in Great Britain makes an even more compelling case for the likelihood of seeing members of the taxon here in the Mid-Atlantic and Hatteras Bights -- none of these taxa were confirmed in the northern hemisphere in the Atlantic, and only the Brown Skua (the taxon lonnbergi) was known to stray as far north as India, on rare occasions, in the Indian Ocean.  (Note - Click Here to see images of these and other Catharacta Skuas.)  It is likely that we have already encountered some of these birds, but the criteria for skua identification, particularly those involving molting and immature birds, are still a matter of conjecture, and still evolving, because these younger birds disperse hundreds or thousands of miles to sea from the breeding grounds for a few years, making it difficult to study them.  Even as we become more aware of molt timings and the progression of immature to adult plumages in these races or species of Southern Skuas, their identification will always be hindered by the difficulty of ascertaining relative size and proportions at sea, by the relative paucity of individuals to study at sea, and of course by the inherent variation within each species or race.

With these cautionary words, we are pleased to present a series of photographs of skuas taken over the last decade on our trips between Maryland and North Carolina.  Webmaster Les Willis has diligently scanned these images from the original slides, and while some of the colors on the Kodachrome slides did not translate well to digital, I think you will find the quality of these images to be quite good overall.  While I feel that some of these are either the expected Great or South Polar Skuas, others might not be so straightforward, and these skuas of uncertain identity are marked with an asterisk.  Otherwise, I have not attached any names to any of the images and would appreciate comments of observers with experience of the austral skuas.  Each page here represents a single individual photographed on the date mentioned.  For some of these birds, there is an extensive series.  We are interested in hearing what you have to say about them, so we have made a place for you to post comments on each bird.  Enjoy!

Image Index