Data Zone
Taxonomic note
Catharacta maccormicki (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) was previously placed in the genus Stercorarius.
Catharacta skua, C. antarctica and C. maccormicki (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993), cross-regional species, are retained as separate species contra Christidis and Boles (1994) and Turbott (1990) who include lonnbergi and antarctica as subspecies of C. skua and AERC TAC (2003) who include C. maccormicki as a subspecies of C. skua.
Taxonomic source(s)
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: #http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm#.
Turbott, E.G. 1990. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand. Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Wellington.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Least Concern | |
| 2016 | Least Concern | |
| 2012 | Least Concern | |
| 2009 | Least Concern | |
| 2008 | Least Concern | |
| 2004 | Least Concern | |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | does not normally occur in forest |
| Land-mass type | Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) | 13,600,000 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2) | 23,300,000 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Value | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of mature individuals | 6000-15000 | poor | estimated | 2009 |
| Population trend | stable | suspected | - | |
| Generation length (years) | 17.1 | - | - | - |
Population justification: The population is placed in the band 10,000-19,999 individuals, equating to 6,667-13,333 mature individuals, rounded here to 6,000-15,000 mature individuals.
Trend justification: The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding | Non-breeding | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antarctica | extant | native | yes | |||
| Antigua and Barbuda | extant | native | yes | |||
| Argentina | extant | native | yes | |||
| Australia | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Barbados | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bermuda (to UK) | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Bouvet Island (to Norway) | extant | uncertain | ||||
| Brazil | extant | native | yes | |||
| Canada | extant | native | yes | |||
| Chile | extant | native | yes | |||
| Comoros | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Costa Rica | extant | native | yes | |||
| Dominica | extant | native | yes | |||
| Ecuador | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Egypt | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Fiji | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| French Guiana | extant | native | yes | |||
| Greenland (to Denmark) | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Guadeloupe (to France) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Guatemala | extant | uncertain | yes | |||
| India | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Indonesia | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Israel | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Japan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Jordan | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Kenya | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Maldives | extant | native | yes | |||
| Martinique (to France) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Mauritania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Mauritius | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Mexico | extant | native | yes | |||
| Micronesia, Federated States of | extant | native | yes | |||
| Montserrat (to UK) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Morocco | extant | native | yes | |||
| Mozambique | extant | native | yes | |||
| Namibia | extant | native | yes | |||
| New Zealand | extant | native | yes | |||
| Oman | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Palau | extant | uncertain | yes | |||
| Panama | extant | native | yes | |||
| Peru | extant | native | yes | |||
| Portugal | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Senegal | extant | native | yes | |||
| Seychelles | extant | native | yes | |||
| Somalia | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| South Africa | extant | native | yes | |||
| South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands | extant | native | yes | |||
| Sri Lanka | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| St Kitts and Nevis | extant | native | yes | |||
| St Lucia | extant | native | yes | |||
| St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) | extant | native | yes | |||
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | extant | native | yes | |||
| Suriname | extant | native | yes | |||
| Trinidad and Tobago | extant | native | yes | |||
| USA | extant | native | yes | |||
| Virgin Islands (to UK) | extant | uncertain | yes | |||
| Virgin Islands (to USA) | extant | uncertain | yes | |||
| Yemen | extant | vagrant | yes |
| Country/Territory | IBA Name |
|---|---|
| Antarctica | Ryder Bay Islands |
| Antarctica | Avian Island |
| Antarctica | Litchfield Island |
| Antarctica | Half Moon Island |
| Antarctica | Potter Peninsula, King George Island |
| Antarctica | Point Hennequin, King George Island |
| Antarctica | Cierva Point and offshore islands |
| Antarctica | Lagotellerie Island |
| Antarctica | Svarthamaren |
| Antarctica | Hop Island, Rauer Islands |
| Antarctica | Haswell Island |
| Antarctica | Cape Adare |
| Antarctica | Possession Island |
| Antarctica | Edmonson Point |
| Antarctica | Cape Washington |
| Antarctica | Inexpressible Island |
| Antarctica | Depot Island |
| Antarctica | Gregory Island |
| Antarctica | Dunlop Island |
| Antarctica | Blue Glacier to Cape Chocolate |
| Antarctica | Dailey Islands |
| Antarctica | Rocky Point, Ross Island |
| Antarctica | McDonald Beach, Cape Bird |
| Antarctica | Caughley Beach, Cape Bird |
| Antarctica | Cape Crozier, Ross Island |
| Antarctica | Beaufort Island |
| Antarctica | Franklin Island southwest |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands | major | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Rocky Shoreline | major | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Tidepools | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | suitable | resident |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | major | resident |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | suitable | resident |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | suitable | resident |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | suitable | resident |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | suitable | resident |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | suitable | resident |
| Marine Oceanic | Epipelagic (0-200m) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Oceanic | Mesopelagic (200-1000m) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks) | suitable | breeding | |
| Altitude | Occasional altitudinal limits |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Catharacta maccormicki. Downloaded from
http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/south-polar-skua-catharacta-maccormicki on 22/09/2023.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://datazone.birdlife.org on 22/09/2023.
