Birds of India - The New Synopsis

A complete checklist of bird species and subspecies found in India

Charadriiformes (Shorebirds, Gulls, and Terns)

Stercorariidae (Skuas)

• Stercorarius Brisson, 1760 Ornithologia sive synopsis methodica sistens avium divisionem in ordines, sectiones, genera, species, ipsarumaque varietates 1 p.56;6, p.149 Stercorarius Brisson ; Type by tautonymy = Larus parasiticus Linnaeus, 1758
  • 274. Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus (Linnaeus, 1758) [HB#448]
    Original Description: Larus parasiticus Linnaeus, 1758 Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata 1 p.136
    Alternative Names: Parasitic Jaeger, Arctic Jaeger
    Distribution: Winter: Off-shore waters in the Arabian Sea and sporadically in Bay of Bengal. Sporadic elsewhere and sometimes inland during migration.
    Specimens: CMFRI
    IUCN: Least Concern. WLPA: Schedule-II.
  
  
  • 275. Long-tailed Skua Stercorarius longicaudus Vieillot, 1819
    Alternative Names: Long-tailed Jaeger
    IUCN: Least Concern. WLPA: Schedule-II.
    • 275a. Stercorarius longicaudus longicaudus Vieillot, 1819
      Original Description: Stercorarius longicaudus Vieillot, 1819 Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'agriculture, à l'économie rurale et domestique, à la médecine, etc. Nouvelle édition 32 p.157
      Taxonomy: In the absence of specimens, origins of the regional non-breeding population are uncertain. Regional birds tentatively assign to the nominate subspecies as this is the most likely one (RA2012). However, pallescens Løppenthin 1932), also breeds in NE Siberia and it can also occur in S Asia. Sometimes treated as monotypic.
      Distribution: Off-shore SW India as well as stragglers elsewhere NW India and in E coast.
      Notes: Migration details not worked out but apparently more likely in spring (Karuthedathu 2019, IB Monographs 2: 7).
  
  
  • 276. Pomarine Skua Stercorarius pomarinus (Temminck, 1815) [HB#447]
    Original Description: Lestris pomarinus Temminck, 1815 Manuel d'ornithologie, ou tableau systématique des oiseaux qui se trouvent en Europe (etc.) ed.1 p.514
    Alternative Names: Pomarine Jaeger
    Distribution: Winter: Off-shore waters in the Arabian Sea, mostly south of Goa as well as off-shore Bay of Bengal on the Tamil Nadu coast.
    Specimens: BNHS, RMNH
    IUCN: Least Concern. WLPA: Schedule-II.
  
  
  • 277. South Polar Skua Stercorarius maccormicki Saunders, 1893 [HB#446a]
    Original Description: Stercorarius maccormicki Saunders, 1893 Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 3 p.12
    Distribution: Vagrant. Definitive reports during (northern) summer from the coasts of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
    Specimens: BNHS
    IUCN: Least Concern. WLPA: Schedule-II.
    Notes: There are more reports of this or Brown Skua from off-shore waters (Praveen et al. 2013, BA 19: 83).
  
  
  • 278. Brown Skua Stercorarius antarcticus (Lesson, 1831)
    Original Description: Lestris antarcticus Lesson, 1831 Traité d'Ornithologie, ou Tableau Méthodique des ordres, sous-ordres, familles, tribus, genres, sous-genres et races d'oiseaux livr.8 p.616
    Alternative Names: Antarctic Skua, Southern Skua
    IUCN: Least Concern. WLPA: Schedule-II.
    • 278a. Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi (Mathews, 1912) [HB#446]
      Original Description: Catharacta antarctica lönnbergi Mathews, 1912 Novitates Zoologicae 18 (3) p.212
      Taxonomy: Subspecies assessment tentative (RA2012).
      Distribution: Vagrant. Reports in (northern) summer of shored birds from Sindhudurg (SW Maharashtra, historical), offshore SW Karnataka, twice from Thiruvananthapuram (one historical and one recent) apart from one from Alappuzha (Kerala) off-shore waters.
      Specimens: BNHS