Back to families© Text, layout and database rights belong to the Trust for Avian Systematics 2021.

STERCORARIIDAE - Skuas or Jaegers (1:7)
STERCORARIUS Brisson, 1760 M - Stercorarius Brisson; type by tautonymy = Larus parasiticus Linnaeus, 1758  1
Stercorarius longicaudus Long-tailed Skua/Long-tailed Jaeger
longicaudus Vieillot, 1819 iN Fenno-Scandia, N Russia and N Siberia (east to Lena delta) >> seas off S South America and S Africa
pallescens Løppenthin, 19322 iE Siberia (west to R. Kolyma), Alaska, N Canada, Greenland >> seas off S South America, S Africa, SE Asia, E Australia, New Zealand
Stercorarius parasiticus 3  (Linnaeus, 1758) Arctic Skua/Parasitic Jaeger
vN Holarctic >> seas off S South America, S Africa, N Indian Ocean, SE Asia seas to New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and to W Pacific
Stercorarius pomarinus 4  (Temminck, 1815) Pomarine Skua/Pomarine Jaeger
vN Russia, N Siberia, W and N Alaska, N Canada >> W South America, Caribbean Sea, W and S Africa, N Indian Ocean, SE Asian and Australasian seas, New Zealand and to C Pacific
Stercorarius skua   (Brünnich, 1764) Great Skua
iNE Atlantic Ocean >> C Atlantic Ocean
Stercorarius maccormicki 5  H. Saunders, 1893 South Polar Skua
iAntarctica >> N Pacific and NW Atlantic Oceans
Stercorarius antarcticus6 Brown Skua/Southern Skua
1 antarcticus (Lesson, 1831) vFalkland Is.; coastal SE Argentina (S Chubut, N Santa Cruz) >> off SE South America
2 lonnbergi (Mathews, 1912)7,8 iAntarctic Pen. and circumpolar on subantarctic islands >> Tropic of Capricorn
3 hamiltoni (Hagen, 1952) iTristan da Cunha Group, Gough I. [Hagen, 1952 #1876]
Stercorarius chilensis   Bonaparte, 1857 Chilean Skua
vCoastal SC Chile (Bíobío) and S Argentina (Santa Cruz) to Tierra del Fuego >> north to Peru and N Argentina
1 Includes Catharacta; see Cohen et al. (1997) [Cohen, 1997 #13777] and Braun & Brumfield (1998) [Braun, 1998 #13775]; but see also Chu et al. (2009) [Chu, 2009 #13334]. Sequence of species derived in part from Ritz et al. (2008) [Ritz, 2008 #10954], who found evidence for the recent derivation of southern skuas from N. Hemisphere, but see differing treatment of chilensis in Chu et al. (2009) [Chu, 2009 #13334].
2 For recognition see Cramp et al. (1983) [Cramp, 1983 #1085].
3 Includes parallelus Dementiev, 1940 [Dementiev, 1940 #1304]; see Stepanyan (1990) [Stepanyan, 1990 #3721].
4 Braun & Brumfield (1998) [Braun, 1998 #13775] found that this was sister to the species formerly placed in Catharacta and recommended resurrecting monotypic Coprotheres Reichenbach, 1853 [Reichenbach, 1853 #14000], for pomarinus.
5 For treatment as a separate species from S. antarcticus see Parmelee (1988) [Parmelee, 1988 #14097].
6 Subspecies groups based on Ritz et al. (2008) [Ritz, 2008 #10954].
7 Treated as a separate species by Sibley & Monroe (1990) [Sibley, 1990 #3636]. Includes clarkei and intercedens; see Murphy (1936) [Murphy, 1936 #14116].
8 For conservation of this name and of hamiltoni see Opinion 1814 (I.C.Z.N., 1994) [I.C.Z.N., 1994 #9666].
Top