Page 38 - An-introduction-to-Svalbard

Above: Great skua. Upper: Arctic skua. Lower: Long-tailed skua.

The great skua (Stercorarius skua) is the largest skua and is mainly found along the west coast
of Spitsbergen. It likes to put its nest near bird cliffs and sometimes acts as a predator, not
only pursuing gulls and auks to scrounge on their catch, but also attacking them in flight and
killing them by drowning them.

The Arctic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) is the northern hemisphere's most common skua.
Apart from the Arctic it is found along the coasts of both Sweden and the UK. In Svalbard it
gets food in one single way: by stealing it from the kittiwake.

The long-tailed skua (Stercorarius longicaudus) nests sporadically on Svalbard, and is actually
more common in the Scandinavian mountain areas than in Svalbard. Since there are no lemmings
on Svalbard, it feeds on ptarmigan chicks and snow buntings.

The pomarine skua (Stercorarius pomarinus) does not nest on Svalbard, but is sometimes
observed.

The black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) numbers hundreds of thousands in Svalbard. It
is a typical cliff dweller and nests in close-knit colonies. You can hardly hear your own thoughts
when you are in the vicinity of a kittiwake colony, as its characteristic three-toned sound echoes
among the cliffs. Its loud cry has caused its English name: Kittiwake.

Right page: Black-legged kittiwake.
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