South Polar Skua

== Roleplays that feature this creature ==
Antarctica
== Other info ==
They are migratory birds, and because of this, only have access to penguin chicks and eggs for a limited amount of time. Most of the food they eat is stolen fish from other birds, though they will still catch their own fish, and given the opportunity, may snatch and eat a penguin chick or egg as well.
They migrate to Antarctica for the summer to breed and nest, and then to the Atlantic and Pacific seas for the rest of the months until it is time to migrate back to Antarctica for the summer.
They are monogamous and usually stay with their mate for life. Once it's time to start searching for a mate, they will usually start making nests, forming a scrape in the gravel and decorating it with pieces of bone. 
Although the mother may lay 2 eggs, in that case the two chicks will be very competitive with each other from the start, and by the first week after hatching, the younger chick will almost always be dead, killed by the older chick.
In spite of their reputation of being "the #1 enemy of penguins", they are often afraid of the adult penguins, as penguins can be a lot more fierce than you may think they are, and once an adult Adelie Penguin gets a hold of a skua's wing or foot, the skua's fate has been sealed.
Mom and dad will usually regurgitate food for their chick rather than bringing fish or penguin chicks to them, though this may change as the chick grows older and eventually fledges at the age of 1 month, 2 weeks and 1 day at earliest, 1 month and 3 weeks at latest.
The chick may leave the nest not long at all after hatching, though they should still be guarded by at least one of their parents, since the world is quite a dangerous place, especially for a little newly hatched chick, and other birds, including other skuas, may think of the unrelated chick as a tasty snack.
Category:Animal Pages