Pomarine Skua Diet and Size: Feeding Habits, Predators, and Measurements
Pomarine skuas are frequent visitors to UK waters at any time of the year except the breeding season. They are unmistakable with their spoon shaped tail feathers and their large size and wingspan.
Pomarine skuas have two different colour phases, with the majority of the species being a dark brown, almost black back, white belly, pale yellow cheeks and white flashes on their wings.
With around 5 to 20% being far darker all over but still with that distinctive spoon shaped tail and white flashes on the wings. These totally different colourations are known as phases. There is the light phase pomarine skua, and the dark phase pomarine skua.
The only real difference apart from the colour, is the dark phase pomarine skua looks more threatening to other birds. Keep reading to find out much more information about these majestic seabirds.
Table of Contents
The Dietary Habits Of The Pomarine Skua
Let’s start by looking at what pomarine skuas eat and what they feed their chicks.
What Does A Pomarine Skua Eat?
Pomarine skuas adapt their feeding habits with the time of year and the environment they’re in at the time. They spend most of their life out at sea and will eat a diet rich in fish.
Either fish they have caught themselves or fish they have stolen from other birds or from large fishing boats. They intimidate other birds by soaring high into the sky before swooping down at high speed (up to 50 mph).
This causes their victims to either drop the fish they have caught or regurgitate their food as they try to escape. They are also known to eat smaller birds like gulls or ducks and are well known for eating from any carcasses found either at sea or on land during the breeding season.
When they return to land to breed their diet mainly consists of small mammals like lemmings and voles as well as fish and small birds.
What To Feed A Baby Pomarine Skua?
When the chicks hatch, they are totally reliant on their parents who will feed them lemmings, voles and fish as well as small birds and meat from any dead animals found in the vicinity.
The chicks are dependent on their parents for food for around the first 2 weeks of their lives after which time the parents will teach them how to find their own food.
Breeding Habits Of Pomarine Skuas
Now let’s take a brief look at the breeding habits of the pomarine skua as well as their size and weight.
Do Pomarine Skuas Mate For Life?
Pomarine skuas tend to mate with the same partner every year. They often split up as they fly out to sea and reunite when they fly back to the nesting grounds the following year.
Both birds scrape out a shallow depression in the ground as a nest. The female might reject the first few attempts before settling on what she considers to be the perfect nest site.
This is important because if an egg were to roll from the nest, it will be ignored and won’t survive. This is why the female checks not just the area the nest has been made in, but also how level the nest is and whether the edges are deep enough to prevent the eggs from rolling away.
The Size & Weight Of Pomarine Skuas
Pomarine skuas are quite large birds and it is suspected that the species came about as a result of a coupling between an Arctic Skua and a Great Skua. Let’s take a look at the size and weight of the pomarine skua.
How Much Does A Pomarine Skua Weigh?
Like all skuas, the female is around 5% larger and heavier than the male. With the average weight of a pomarine skua being anywhere between 550 to 900g.
That’s roughly the same weight as a small to full sized loaf of bread.
How Big Is A Pomarine Skua?
They have a wingspan of somewhere between 113 to 125 cm. Which is around the same wingspan as the common buzzard.
The pomarine skua is around 46 to 51 cm in length which is around the same size as the great crested grebe. Although the wingspan of the pomarine skua is greater than that of the great crested grebe.
Are Pomarine Skuas Under Threat?
It is estimated that there is a world population of more than 400,000 individual pomarine skuas. The species is considered to be of “least concern” when it comes to conservation.
With that said, as many other seabirds are reportedly under threat of avian flu, including the great skua, it is highly likely that the pomarine skua is also at risk.
What Eats A Pomarine Skua?
Due to the nature of the pomarine skua, it is not at threat from predators when out at sea. It’s only when they come inland to breed that the pomarine skua is at danger from predators.
Those predators include foxes (particularly Arctic foxes), cats and polar bears. Eggs and chicks are under more threat from other members of the breeding community.
Where Can I See Pomarine Skuas In The UK?
There are a number of places where it is possible to see pomarine skuas in the UK. They can typically be seen during the months of April to November.
During the spring time you’re most likely to see pomarine skuas in;
- Kent
- Sussex
- Dorset
- The Shetland Isles
- The Orkney Isles
In Autumn you’re most likely to see pomarine skuas in;
- Norfolk
- Cornwall
- Yorkshire
- Humberside
However, there are often stray birds of this species found in different places and at different times throughout the year around UK coasts.
SEE ALSO: Manx Shearwater Life Cycle: Nest Building To Fledging (and everything in between)
Frequently Asked Questions
You can identify pomarine skuas by their spoon shaped tail feathers. These birds are typically around the size of a great crested grebe with dark backs and a white belly and distinctive white flashes on their wings.
Although they tend to steal food from other seabirds, the pomarine skua is capable of swimming to catch its own fish.
There are an estimated 400,000 individual pomarine skuas worldwide.
