Skuas (Stercorariidae)

South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki) - HBW 3, p. 569

French: Labbe de MacCormick German: Antarktikskua Spanish: Págalo Polar
Other common names: MacCormick's/Antarctic Skua

Taxonomy: Stercorarius maccormicki Saunders, 1893, Victoria Land, Antarctica.
Sometimes considered conspecific with all three congeners, and all four probably form superspecies; genus frequently merged into Stercorarius. Occasional hybridization with C. antarctica lonnbergi reported. Monotypic.

Distribution: Antarctic Continent and Peninsula, especially in Ross Sea area. Winters as far N as Alaska and Greenland, though distribution in North Atlantic confused by presence of C. skua, and difficulties of field identification.