South polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki)

Japanese: オオトウゾクカモメ（英語表記）Stercorarius maccormicki; south polar skua

Charadriiformes, family Laridae. Total length 50-55cm. The head, chest and belly are black-brown, grayish white and intermediate types. All types have slightly lighter and darker wings, but the wings are black-brown with prominent white spots. The beak is thick and curved like a hook. Outside of the breeding season, they mainly live offshore, chasing and attacking seabirds such as terns and gulls, stealing fish and other food. In Antarctica, they also prey on penguin eggs and chicks. They also attack birds and scavenge for carrion. They breed only on the coasts of Antarctica, but after breeding they also cross the equator and migrate to the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far as the Alaska Peninsula and Greenland. In Japan, they have been recorded very rarely in the oceans north of Honshu.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

チドリ目トウゾクカモメ科。全長 50～55cm。頭部から胸，腹が黒褐色，灰白色，中間の型があり，どの型も翼は多少の明暗があるが，黒褐色でよく目立つ白斑がある。嘴は太く，先端がかぎ状に曲がっている。繁殖期以外はおもに沖合いで暮らし，アジサシ類やカモメ類などの海鳥を追って攻撃し，魚などの餌を奪いとる。南極大陸ではペンギン類の卵や雛も捕食する。鳥を襲ったり死肉をあさったりもする。繁殖地は南極大陸の沿岸だけだが，繁殖を終えると赤道を越えて北半球へも移動し，アラスカ半島やグリーンランドまで達する。日本では本州以北の洋上でごくまれに記録される。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

<<: Daito Palace

>>: Oodo Shrine - Oodo Shrine