Pomarine Skua

Stercorarius pomarinus

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Stercorariidae
Presence in the Strait: Migrant
Abundance: rare
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Págalo pomarino

Photograph: Nigel Voaden, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 65–78 cm
Wingspan: 113–125 cm
Weight: 700–800 g

Presence in the Strait

Rare pelagic migrant.

Identification

Similar to Arctic Skua, but larger and more robust. With wider wings and heavier bill. Central rectrices spoon-shaped. In flight note pale wing patches. Light and dark phases exist, the latter of which is almost totally dark brown. Juveniles are similar to those of a Yellow-legged Gull but darker and with a pale base to bill.

Movements

Prenuptial migration between March and May; postnuptial migration between July and October, with peaks in September.

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

19 %

Peak in October. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 1 April 1990
Latest record: 7 October 2024

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: NE · Not evaluated · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Same genus in the Strait

Great Skua53–66 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
Parasitic Jaeger46–67 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Stercorariidae
GBIF taxon key: 2481609

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Nigel Voaden, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Pomarine Skua

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Gallery