Some food items of the South Polar Skua Stercorarius maccormicki at inland sites in the Ahlmannryggen, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Marine Ornithology 40: 63–66 (2012) Among breeding Antarctic species of birds, the diet of the South Polar Skua Stercorarius maccormicki (following Christidis & Boles 2008) is comparatively well studied. Higgins & Davies (1996) have summarised published information on the bird’s diet up to 1994, and a number of studies of the diet or notes on the feeding ecology of this species have appeared subsequently (Mund & Miller 1995, Reinhardt 1997, Brooke et al. 1999, Norman & Ward 1999, Reinhardt et al. 2000, Baker & Barbraud 2001, Hahn et al. 2008, Malzof & Quintana 2008, Montalti et al. 2009). These studies reveal that South Polar Skuas feed upon almost any animal prey or waste product available to them, including fishes, marine invertebrates, penguins (including eggs and chicks), petrels, seal carrion and placentae, and waste from research stations.

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