LC
Chilean Skua Catharacta chilensis



Taxonomy

Taxonomic note
Catharacta chilensis (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) was previously placed in the genus Stercorarius.

Taxonomic source(s)
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: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - -

Red List history
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
Species attributes

Migratory status not a migrant Forest dependency does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type Average mass -
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 1,140,000 km2 medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) 7,430,000 km2 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size 2500-9999 mature individuals poor estimated 1996
Population trend stable - suspected -
Generation length 17.2 years - - -

Population justification: Del Hoyo et al. (1996) estimate the population size at several thousand pairs. Therefore, the population size is tentatively placed here in the range 2,500-9,999 mature individuals, although this could be an underestimate.

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Antarctica extant vagrant yes
Argentina extant native yes
Brazil extant vagrant yes
Chile extant native yes
Ecuador extant vagrant yes
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) extant uncertain yes
Peru extant native yes
Uruguay extant vagrant yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name
Chile Isla Magdalena National Park
Chile Isla Noir

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Grassland Temperate suitable breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands major breeding
Marine Intertidal Rocky Shoreline suitable breeding
Marine Intertidal Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc suitable breeding
Marine Intertidal Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches suitable breeding
Marine Intertidal Tidepools suitable breeding
Marine Neritic Macroalgal/Kelp major resident
Marine Neritic Pelagic suitable resident
Marine Neritic Seagrass (Submerged) major resident
Marine Neritic Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel major resident
Marine Neritic Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs major resident
Marine Neritic Subtidal Sandy major resident
Marine Neritic Subtidal Sandy-Mud major resident
Marine Oceanic Epipelagic (0-200m) suitable non-breeding
Marine Oceanic Mesopelagic (200-1000m) suitable non-breeding
Altitude   Occasional altitudinal limits  

Threats & impact
Threat (level 1) Threat (level 2) Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest] Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Species mortality
Biological resource use Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Reduced reproductive success
Climate change & severe weather Habitat shifting & alteration Timing Scope Severity Impact
Future Majority (50-90%) Unknown Unknown
Stresses
Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation

Utilisation
Purpose Scale
Food - human subsistence, national

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Chilean Skua Catharacta chilensis. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/chilean-skua-catharacta-chilensis on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.