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: https://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) | 13,600,000 km2 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) | 23,300,000 km2 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | 6000-15000 mature individuals | poor | estimated | 2009 |
| Population trend | stable | - | suspected | - |
| Generation length | 17.1 years | - | - | - |
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 visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Avian Island |
| Antarctica | Beaufort Island |
| Antarctica | Blue Glacier to Cape Chocolate |
| Antarctica | Cape Adare |
| Antarctica | Cape Crozier, Ross Island |
| Antarctica | Cape Washington |
| Antarctica | Caughley Beach, Cape Bird |
| Antarctica | Cierva Point and offshore islands |
| Antarctica | Dailey Islands |
| Antarctica | Depot Island |
| Antarctica | Dunlop Island |
| Antarctica | Edmonson Point |
| Antarctica | Franklin Island southwest |
| Antarctica | Gregory Island |
| Antarctica | Half Moon Island |
| Antarctica | Haswell Island |
| Antarctica | Hop Island, Rauer Islands |
| Antarctica | Inexpressible Island |
| Antarctica | Lagotellerie Island |
| Antarctica | Litchfield Island |
| Antarctica | McDonald Beach, Cape Bird |
| Antarctica | Point Hennequin, King George Island |
| Antarctica | Possession Island |
| Antarctica | Potter Peninsula, King George Island |
| Antarctica | Rocky Point, Ross Island |
| Antarctica | Ryder Bay Islands |
| Antarctica | Svarthamaren |
| 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 (2024) Species factsheet: South Polar Skua Catharacta maccormicki. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/south-polar-skua-catharacta-maccormicki 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.