My previous post covered our landing at Danco Island and the large Gentoo Penguin colony there. As with all active colonies there were the attendant Brown Skuas which prey on the Penguins, stealing eggs and predating young chicks. We saw a pair of Skua steal an egg then fly off to crack and devour it. It was a perfect example of Skua teamwork, with one distracting the penguin while the second darted in to steal the egg before they flew off together to share the spoils. Lone Skuas have little success but when working as a team achieve significantly more.

In addition to egg thievery, the Brown Skua also preys directly on penguin chicks, attacking any that wander away from parental protection until they are killed. Outside of the breeding season Skua disperse and feed opportunistically, gathering food from the sea surface and harrying Albatross and Petrels until they disgorge their food, a technique similar to that used by Frigatebirds.

Remains of a predated Gentoo chick on the climb up to the peak of Danco Island

The Brown Skua (Catharacta antarctica), also known as Subantarctic Skua, Southern Skua or Hakoakoa in New Zealand, are large aggressive birds when compared with the other two Skuas we saw, the dumpy and almost cute, Chilean Skua (Catharacta chilensis) and the South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki). There is still significant debate on Brown Skua taxonomy with disagreement as to whether different populations are separate species or merely races of the same species – some even differentiating Brown and Subantarctic Skua into separate species. See New Zealand Birds Online for more details on this species

As always I was on the lookout for opportunities to add to my Birds on White project and Danco Island didn’t disappoint, offering a Brown Skua flying in falling snow.