HākoakoaArctic Skua
- Conservation status
- Doing OK
Once the pirate captain of New Zealand's skies has finished the annual breeding season in the Arctic, the Arctic skua returns again. This seasonal visitor to New Zealand waters is also known as "Parasitic Jaeger" – or “Hunter” when translated from German to English. Described as "piratical" and "aggressively tenacious", the Arctic skua pursues other seabirds until they regurgitate their food, which the enterprising skua catches in mid-air.
Campaign Manager
Alec Dawson
Alec Dawson is a Dunedin-born environmental campaigner currently based in London who works to protect forests by combatting the illegal timber trade. His love of New Zealand's birds comes from tramping in the South Island bush. He loves the Arctic skua because it is nature's pirate and because it also travels far away from New Zealand in search of new adventures.
Photo: Orientalizing