Skuas & Gulls
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The Skuas are a family of 7 predatory seagoing species, four of which are seen around the coast of Britain. Great and Arctic Skuas breed on remote islands off Scotland. Pomarine and Long-tailed Skuas are passage birds. A fifth species, South Polar Skua has been observed off the Faroe Isles and has possibly been overlooked around the British coast due to its similarity to Great Skua.
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The Gulls comprise a Worldwide family of 56 species. 21 of these species are on the British list, but a further 2 species, Caspian and American Herring Gull are now seen on an annual basis and it is only a matter of time before their acceptance. 16 species breed here and many are very common. The gulls can be split into three age groups. The smaller Gulls mature in two years; in Britain they include the Black-headed Gull (Common breeder) and the rarer Slender-billed, Ross's, Sabine's, Ivory, Franklin's and Bonaparte's Gulls. Gulls maturing in three years include the breeding Common, Kittiwake and Mediterranean Gulls plus the rarer non breeding Ring-billed, Little and Laughing Gulls. The large gulls mature in four years, which makes identification difficult. They include the breeding Herring, Lesser and Greater Blacked Gulls and the rarer Glaucous and Iceland Gulls. Pallas's and Auduin's Gulls are extremely rare vagrants. In 2008 a Glaucous-winged Gull was observed in N Wales.