Faith without works is like a bird without wings; though she may hop with her companions on earth, yet she will never fly with them to heaven.

A Francis Beaumont quotation

Identify this bird

Great Skua

The Great Skua is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. In Britain, it is sometimes known by the name Bonxie, a Shetland name of unknown origin.

Identification Tips:
• Length: 17.5 inches Wingspan: 16 inches
• Sexes similar
• Large, heavyset, thick-necked with broad-based wings
• Thick, heavy bill
• Broad white patch at base of primaries
• Short broad tail
• Sometimes chases other birds to steal their food
• Juveniles take several years to reach adult plumage
• Most often seen far offshore

Behavior: In appearance as well as in habits the skua seems to share the attributes of the Raptores and the Laridae. Its strong hooked bill and its sharp curved claws enable it to stand upon and rend asunder the victims of its rapacious habits. The Great Skua’s flight is also somewhat hawk-like. Yet it stands horizontally and runs about nimbly like a gull. Morris (1903) says that it “soars at times at a great height, and flies both strongly and rapidly, in an impetuous, dashing manner.

Breeding range: Islands of the North Atlantic Ocean, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe and Shetland Islands. Said by Kumlien the Great Skua breeds at Lady Franklin Island north of Hudson Strait.

Winter range: The North Atlantic Ocean, occasionally reaching land. From the Great Banks, off Newfoundland, and Georges Bank, off Massachusetts, to New York (Long Island). In Europe from the British Isles and Norway south to Gibraltar. Occasional in the Mediterranean Sea and on inland waters.