Yesterday I posted a photograph of a South Polar Skua in flight www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/53675500215/in/dateposted/ and mentioned how similar dark morph birds are to Great Skuas or Bonxies. I then realised that I did not have a comparable flight shot of a Bonxie so decided to upload this one that I photographed a year or two back on St Kilda. To me they look identical in size and structure, but Bonxie is a bit paler, and has pale feather shafts all over giving a subtly speckled appearance.

Unfortunately the Bonxie population on St Kilda was hit hard by bird flu and 120 were found dead there, pushing that colony to the brink of extinction. Here it is on the BBC website: www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-61894583

Tags:   Stercorarius skua Great Skua Bonxie St Kilda Scotland Tim Melling

© All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

6221

Tags:   BEST GOOD

© All Rights Reserved

6219

Tags:   BEST GOOD

© All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved