Antarctic skua Catharacta antarctica) breeds in various islands in the southern oceans. It is known to breed south of New Zealand. It is known to breed on islands to the east of Argentina, and also known to breed on islands in the southern Indian Ocean. This is a larger skua from 24-26 inches in length. In flight the dorsal side shows mostly brown with some white in the outer wing feathers.

The Skua genus (Catharacta) is comprised of 5 species of oceanic birds that prefer colder weather. Some authors combine the Catharacta genus into the Stercorarius genus. Either way this group contains a total of 8 species. These are long winged birds with excellent flying ability.

The placement of Catharacta antarcticus lonnbergi as Catharacta lonnbergi increases the member count from 7 to 8 species.

Jaegers and Skuas (Family Stercorariidae) are frequently combined with the gulls and terns in to a single larger family. In fact, the four species in this family are very similar to the gulls. Only some differences in the nostrils set this group apart.

Shorebirds (Order Charadriformes) are a group of 305 species of worldwide birds. While good fliers, they are much observed feeding along seashores and in the vicinity of inland bodies of water. Seagulls and sandpipers are typical representatives of this order.

There are many different families herein, and most authors end up with about 18 different families. Other groups included herein include the plovers, curlews, coursers, oyster catchers, jacanas, terns, phalaropes, plovers, stilts and avocets, skimmers, snipes, jaegers, and auks and puffins.

Aves contains about 8,650 different species of living birds known to science. Each year about one new species is discovered in some remote rain forest or remote island. In addition, scientists have been raising many subspecies to full species status which may raise the species count to 10,000. Birdlife recognizes 10,027 species as of 2011.

However, each year about one species goes extinct. The rate of extinction is increasing, and the rate of new discovery is decreasing, so that the number of bird species will soon begin to decline rapidly. Although different taxonomists would organize the birds differently, there are approximately twenty-seven orders of birds. These orders are broken down into about one hundred and fifty-five different families.

Recent research of the genetic structure of some of the shore birds and owls would indicate that the present organization of orders and families should have some modification.

The birds are a worldwide group of animals that are characterized by having the front limbs modified into wings that are used for flying. Perhaps the most unique feature of the birds is the feathers. These feathers are made up of a central support called a quill and a series of small filaments that are hooked together as barbs.

For many years it was believed that Archaeopteryx discovered in Bavaria was the oldest bird from about 150 million years ago. However, in l986, Sankar Chattterjee, a Texas paleontologist, reportedly discovered a bird in the genus Protoavis that lived about 225 million years ago.

When this project was begun in 1978, we used Austin & Singer for bird taxonomy. Since then, we have adopted many changes, but have kept some older concepts that are still found widely in the literature. Recently, we have used Clements and Howard & Moore. Very recently, we have used Monroe and Sibley for the higher taxonomy of the perching birds.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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