Key information about the UK’s birds and their changing fortunes, based on data collected by BTO and partner organisations. This dark brown, large powerful seabird with obvious white wing flashes can be seen around our coasts throughout the year.

These birds migrate to the northernmost isles of the UK from their wintering grounds off the coasts of Spain and Africa. At a distance, they look stout and dark and show white wing flashes in flight.

Identifying skuas passing offshore in late summer is one of the great challenges of bird ID. There are clues to help us, however, and - with practice - most individuals can be identified. This workshop will point you in the right direction and help you to focus on the features and markings that will be most helpful when seawatching.

The skuas / ˈskjuːə / are a group of predatory seabirds with seven species forming the genus Stercorarius, the only genus in the family Stercorariidae. The three smaller skuas, the Arctic skua, the long-tailed skua, and the pomarine skua, are called jaegers in North American English.

A fierce pirate of the sea, the great skua is renowned for stealing fish from other seabirds and dive-bombing anyone that comes near its nests. It breeds on the Scottish Isles. Classified in the UK as Red following a 2024 update to the Birds of Conservation Concern 5: …

There are four types of skuas found in the UK: the Pomarine Skua, Long-tailed Skua, Great Skua, and Arctic Skua.

The Arctic Skua is a medium-sized, dark seabird with pointed wings, which are pale at the tips. Often seen flying low and fast above the waves in pursuit of a tern or other bird, sometimes chasing it high into the air, twisting and turning, to make it drop its food.

The great skua (Stercorarius skua), sometimes known by the name bonxie in Britain, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is roughly the size of a herring gull. It mainly eats fish caught at the sea surface or taken from other birds.

The great skua is a large, heavy seabird, roughly the size of a herring gull. At a distance the great skua looks stout and dark with streaks or dapples of gold/yellow and a dark grey cap. They show white wing flashes in flight. The beak is powerful and hooked and both bill and legs are black.

Great skuas (or ‘bonxies’, a Shetland word meaning dumpy, untidy women) are majestic and powerful seabirds that never fail to provoke a reaction. At sea, they can often be seen harassing gannets or gulls to make them drop their their food, or …