Close up of brown skua head

The characteristic hooked bill of the skuas is due to a prominent distal 'nail' on the upper mandible. This feature is absent in gulls and is indicative of the skuas' predatory lifestyle.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Young, Euan
Format:	Still Image
Language:	unknown
Published:	School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland 1992
Subjects:	Birds Land & seabirds Aves Charadriiformes Stercorariidae - Skuas Catharacta lonnbergi - Brown Skua New Zealand Brown Skua
Online Access:	http://dtlappprd01.its.auckland.ac.nz:1801/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=39181&custom_att_2=simple_viewer http://digitool.auckland.ac.nz:1801/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=39156

Description
Summary:	The characteristic hooked bill of the skuas is due to a prominent distal 'nail' on the upper mandible. This feature is absent in gulls and is indicative of the skuas' predatory lifestyle.