skuas
Aggressive polar gulls
Skuas are large, aggressive seabirds that harass other birds into dropping their food—a feeding strategy called kleptoparasitism.
Dark-plumaged and powerful, they breed in polar and subpolar regions.
The great skua attacks birds as large as gannets; smaller species called jaegers in North America pursue terns and gulls.
A skua dive-bombed anyone who approached its nest.
Coastal scavenging seabird
- jaegerPredatory Arctic seabird
- petrelTube-nosed ocean bird
- shearwaterTube-nosed pelagic bird
- albatrossLong-winged oceanic bird
fulmar · tern · gannet · cormorant · frigatebird · pelagic · wingspan · plumage
Steep aerial attack
- mobbingCollective harassment behavior
- territorialDefensive about owned space
- confrontationalInclined toward hostile encounters
- hostileAggressively unfriendly
intimidating · combative · fierce · pugnacious · harassing · chasing · swooping · attacking
Seeker of refuse
- huntPursuit of quarry
- preyAnimal being hunted
- carrionPutrefying animal remains
- eggsReproductive cells in shells
chicks · fish · stealing · piracy · pursuing · opportunistic · foraging · feeding
Of extreme latitudes
- iceWater's solid form
- tundraFrigid treeless biome
- glacierSlow-moving ice mass
- penguinFlightless aquatic southern bird
krill · Southern Ocean · subantarctic · breeding colony · South Georgia · Falklands · Antarctica · pack ice
Having extended posterior appendage
- ChileanOf an Andean republic
- speciesFinest taxonomic rank
- ornithologyScientific study of birds
- classificationSystematic grouping by traits
gull
Coastal scavenging seabird
- jaegerPredatory Arctic seabird
- petrelTube-nosed ocean bird
- shearwaterTube-nosed pelagic bird
albatross · fulmar · tern · gannet · cormorant · frigatebird · pelagic · wingspan · plumage · feathers
dive-bombing
Steep aerial attack
- mobbingCollective harassment behavior
- territorialDefensive about owned space
- confrontationalInclined toward hostile encounters
hostile · intimidating · combative · fierce · pugnacious · harassing · chasing · swooping · attacking · defensive
scavenger
Seeker of refuse
eggs · chicks · fish · stealing · piracy · pursuing · opportunistic · foraging · feeding · regurgitation
polar
Of extreme latitudes
penguin · krill · Southern Ocean · subantarctic · breeding colony · South Georgia · Falklands · Antarctica · pack ice · rookery
long-tailed
Having extended posterior appendage
- ChileanOf an Andean republic
- speciesFinest taxonomic rank
- ornithologyScientific study of birds
- seabirdspenguin, penguins, pelican, pelicans, seagull
- waterbirdsducks, auk, geese, bittern, swans
- South American CoastHumboldt Current, sea lions, penguins, anchovies, fishing industry
- marine ecosystemsphytoplankton, oceans, zooplankton, marine life, krill
- gulls and ternsgull, gulls, tern, terns, seagull
- shorebirdssandpiper, sandpipers, plover, plovers, curlew
skuasterns
Slender coastal diving birds
puffins · kittiwakes · storm petrels · petrels · prey species