General

Pomarine Skua: Hefty, falcon-like seabird with long central tail feathers rounded at the tip. Dark grey upperparts. Wings have white at base of the primaries. Black cap and face, grey-pink bill with black tip, and pale yellow on side of the head and nape. White neck, breast, and belly with dark band on breast. Black vent. Dark phase adults also occur and are all dark grey except for white in wing and bill. Juveniles vary from pale brown to dark brown, can have brown-grey heads, barring above and below, and always barred on the rump and vent.

Range and Habitat

Pomarine Skua: Passage visitor to the UK & Ireland. Birds visit the coastline in mid-spring and in autumn as they journey between the Arctic and West Africa. Most likely to be seen at sea watching places on the North Sea and in the Western Isles. Birds remain at the coast while on passage.

Breeding and Nesting

Pomarine Skua: Breeding and nesting are very dependent on lemming population density. Both parents build nest, a shallow scrape on the ground shaped by parents' feet and breasts. Both parents incubate eggs and feed lemming pieces to young, which can leave nest within days but stay nearby to be fed.

Foraging and Feeding

Pomarine Skua: During the summer on the tundra it mainly feeds on lemmings but will also take eggs and birds. In winter along the coast, it feeds on fish and birds. It also scavanges and sometimes steals food.

Vocalisation

Pomarine Skua: Silent except on breeding grounds; utters a sharp "which-yew" or high-pitched "week-week."

Similar Species

Pomarine Skua: In the dark summer morph, the Arctic Skua is lighter and more brown than the Pomarine Skua, and the pale summer morph is also lighter overall, with much less distinct yellow plumage on the nape. Great Skua lacks the yellow patch entirely, has no white underparts, but does have white plumage in the primaries.