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The parasitic jaeger (North America) or Arctic skua (Europe) (Stercorarius parasiticus), is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migratory species that breeds in Northern Scandinavia , Scotland , Iceland , Greenland , Northern Canada , Alaska , and Siberia and winters across the southern hemisphere.
The eggs and chicks of other seabirds, primarily penguins, are an important food source for most skua species during the nesting season. [6] In the southern oceans and Antarctica region, some skua species (especially the south polar skua) will readily scavenge carcasses at breeding colonies of both penguins and pinnipeds. Skuas will also kill ...
This is the smallest of the skua family at 38–58 cm (15–23 in), depending on season and age. However up to 29 cm (11 in) of its length can be made up by the tail which may include the 15 cm (5.9 in) tail streamers of the summer adult.
This means that birds that are considered probable escapees, although they may have been sighted flying free in Kansas, are not included. This list is presented in the taxonomic sequence of the Check-list of North and Middle American Birds, 7th edition through the 62nd Supplement, published by the American Ornithological Society (AOS). [2]
Birds-of-paradise range in size from the king bird-of-paradise at 50 g (1.8 oz) and 15 cm (5.9 in) to the curl-crested manucode at 44 cm (17 in) and 430 g (15 oz). The male black sicklebill , with its long tail, is the longest species at 110 cm (43 in).
An aerial apex predator, the great skua is an also an aggressive kleptoparasite, deliberately harassing birds as large as gannets to steal a free meal. It also readily kills and eats smaller birds such as puffins. Great skuas show little to no fear of humans – anybody getting close to the nest will be repeatedly dive-bombed by the territorial ...
The most likely explanation is extensive hybridization between the great and one species of lesser skuas, which resulted in a hybrid population that eventually evolved into a distinct species, the pomarine jaeger; or alternatively between the pomarine and a species of Southern Hemisphere skua, with the great skua being the hybrid offspring ...
The parotias are a genus, Parotia, of passerine birds in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae. They are endemic to New Guinea. They are also known as six-plumed birds of paradise, due to their six head quills. These birds were featured prominently in the BBC series Planet Earth.