Arctic skua with wings and tail spread in flight

Arctic skua

Arctic skuas pair up and defend feeding territories from their neighbours in the Arctic, but elsewhere they form colonies with small territories within them. As well as squabbling with the neighbours, they steal fish from other birds such as terns and puffins.

Scientific name: Stercorarius parasiticus

Rank: Species

Common names:

  • Arctic jaeger,
  • Parasitic Jaeger

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Map showing the distribution of the Arctic skua taxa

Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.

The Arctic skua can be found in a number of locations including: Arctic, Asia, China, Europe, Russia, United Kingdom. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.


The following habitats are found across the Arctic skua distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.

Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web

Conservation Status

Least Concern

  1. EX - Extinct
  2. EW
  3. CR - Threatened
  4. EN - Threatened
  5. VU - Threatened
  6. NT
  7. LC - Least concern

Year assessed: 2009

Classified by: IUCN 3.1


  1. Life
  2. Animals
  3. Vertebrates
  4. Birds
  5. Shorebirds
  6. Stercorariidae
  7. Skuas and jaegers
  8. Arctic skua