Email address: kanaujia.amita@gmail.com 39 G- Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 2(3): (2014) ISSN (Online): 2322-0228 (Print): 2322-021X G- Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (An International Peer Reviewed Research Journal) Available online at http://www.gjestenv.com A Review on the Kleptoparasitic Skuas of the Islands Amita Kanaujia * , Ashish Kumar, Sonika Kushwaha, Akhilesh Kumar and Adesh Kumar Biodiversity and Wildlife Conservation Lab, Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT The Skuas are one of the World’s rare birds. They are very important part of the Iceland biodiversity and most of the scientists and researchers talk about Penguin but only few people know about Skuas who are the kleptoparasite and they eat eggs of fulmarine petrel and penguin. The topic is taken for the review because these Skuas are very important bird but their identities have remained unclear due to limited studies. The review article reflects the Systematic Position of Skuas as well as the types. The convergence with raptors is also reflected. More research is required, particularly long-term studies, to better understand one of Antarctica’s most enigmatic species of Skuas. From ecological perspective, the links between migration and breeding grounds are of great importance for the better understanding of factors affecting the life cycle of birds. Received: 18 Sep 2014 Revised : 19 Nov 2014 Accepted: 05 Dec 2014 Key words: Skuas, Kleptoparasite, Systematic Position 1) INTRODUCTION Colonial Seabird [1], Skuas are top predators with a wide food niche. They scavenge; prey on birds, fish and sometimes mammals. They also pirate other birds of the sea for their food. Hence they are also denoted as “Pirates of the ocean” [2, 3]. The topic is taken for the review because these Skuas are very important bird. They are very important part of the Iceland biodiversity and most of the scientists and researchers talk about Penguin but only few people know about Skuas who are the kleptoparasite and they eat eggs of fulmarine petrel and penguin. And also a very little knowledge about the breeding and migratory pattern is available. So with the help of this paper people will gain knowledge about Skuas. 2) SYSTEMATICS Due to lack of established taxonomy there is still confusion about how the Skuas are related and how they should be named due to their unique distribution pattern throughout the globe [4]. In the past it was recognized that there were two groups of Skuas, the great skuas they are big, heavy, brown birds, with several species in the southern Hemisphere and on North Atlantic islands, and the small Skuas or Jaegers, smaller, lighter and often with a patterned and barred plumage and when breeding, long tail feathers. Some authors placed the great Skuas in the genus Catharacta, the smaller ones in Stercorarius but others tended to put them all into one genus Stercorarius [4, 5]. Skuas belong to a small family stercorariidae under order Charadriiformes, closely related to the gulls. The consensus is to recognize seven species in two genera, this is controversial. Three small species in genus Stercorarius (namely, the Pomarine, Arctic and Long-tailed Skuas) based on Arctic tundra (Table. 1). After breeding they migrate to winter in Southern hemisphere. Other four large species are in the genus Catharacta (South Polar, Sub-Antarctica, Great and Chilean Skuas). Three species breed around the coast of Antarctica, Southern South America and at sub-Antarctic Islands and one species of Great Skuas breeds in the Northern Hemisphere, where it is restricted to the North-East Atlantic. All four species tend to disperse towards warmer areas during the winter non-breeding season, but only the most southerly breeding species, the South polar skua, migrates across the equators [6]. 3) DESCRIPTION SKUAS The characters of six commonly recognized forms of Skuas, Catharacta skua in the North Atlantic, Cathatacta lonerbergi on Sub-Atlantic Islands, Catharacta hamiltoni at Gough and Tris-tan-da Cunha in the South Atlantic, Catharacta antarctica in the Faikland Islands and on the coast of Argentina, Catharacta chilensis in Southern South America and Catharacta maccormicki on the Antarctic continent are outlined briefly- South Polar Skua, Catharacta maccormicki: It is a small form having size of 140 cm (wing spread), 980-1900 gm in weight with a slender and delicate bill tapering to a long, non bulbous nail. The plumage of this skua is highly variable, light, intermediate and dark phases have been described individuals ranging from almost white bodied to entirely blackish [7, 8]. * Corresponding Author: Dr. Amita Kanaujia