The Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus) is the mid-sized skua with broad, twisted "spoons" in the tail — an aggressive kleptoparasite of the open sea, intermediate in bulk between the Parasitic Jaeger and the Great Skua. It measures 46–51 cm with a wingspan of 115–125 cm and weighs 550–900 grams, occurring in a pale form with a dark cap, yellowish cheek streak, and white underparts, and a much rarer, uniformly dark brown morph. The diagnostic feature of the adult is the elongated central tail feathers, which are broad, spatula-shaped, and twisted — the so-called "spoons", roughly 4–7 cm long — and the body is thickset and powerful, appearing heavy and purposeful in flight with a large white flash at the base of the primaries.
The species is largely silent away from the breeding grounds and is rarely heard as it passes Sweden. It breeds circumpolar on Arctic tundra and does not nest in Sweden; here it occurs as a passage migrant, seen mainly during seabird watches along the west coast, with hundreds of birds sometimes passing well-known watch points such as Vinga, Hönö, and Falsterbo between September and November, especially with onshore winds and storms. On the breeding grounds it depends heavily on lemmings — good lemming years bring successful breeding, while poor years can mean it largely skips nesting — with the female laying 2 eggs in a simple ground nest. Away from the tundra it is a committed kleptoparasite of gulls and terns, forcing them to drop their catch, but also takes fish, carrion, and smaller seabirds itself, wintering out at sea in the southern hemisphere.
Read about this species in Swedish →