Skuas (Stercorariidae)

Great Skua (Catharacta skua) - HBW 3, p. 570

French: Grand Labbe German: Skua Spanish: Págalo Grande
Other common names: Bonxie, Northern Skua

Taxonomy: Catharacta Skua Brünnich, 1764, Faeroes.
Sometimes considered conspecific with all three congeners, and all four probably form superspecies; genus frequently merged into Stercorarius. Has often been grouped in single species with C. antarctica, but range, mitochondrial DNA, plumage and biometrics all indicate specific status for both forms. Monotypic.

Distribution: Iceland, Faeroes, N Scotland, and recently a few sites in Svalbard, Bear I, Norway, Jan Mayen and Veshnjak I, Kola Peninsula (NW Russia). Winters predominantly off Iberia, with young birds moving as far S as Cape Verde Is and Brazil; small numbers winter on Grand Banks of Newfoundland.