Brown Skua

SCI Name:  Stercorarius antarcticus
Protonym:  Lestris antarcticus TraitedOrn. livr.8 p.616
Taxonomy:  Charadriiformes / Stercorariidae / Stercorarius
Taxonomy Code:  brnsku3
Type Locality:  Falkland Islands and New Zealand: restricted to the former by Mathews, Nov. Zool., 18, 1912, p. 212.
Author:  Lesson
Publish Year:  1831
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

STERCORARIUS
(Stercorariidae; Ϯ Arctic Skua S. parasiticus) L. stercorarius  of dung  < stercus, stercoris  dung; skuas pursue other seabirds until they disgorge their food, the disgorged food once thought to be excrement, hence a former name 'Dung-hunter'; "Stercorarius. Genus 101.  ...  **1. LE STERCORAIRE. ... STERCORARIUS" (Brisson 1760): based on "Arctick Bird" of Edwards 1750; "Stercorarius Brisson, Orn., 1760, 1, p.l 56; 6, p. 149. Type, by tautonymy, Stercorarius Brisson = Larus parasiticus Linné." (Peters 1934, II, 311). 
Var. Stercoraria, Stercararius, Stercoreus.
Synon. Atalolestris, Cataracta, Coprotheres, Labbus, Lestris, Oceanus, Praedatrix.

stercorarius
L. stercorarius  of dung  < stercus, stercoris  dung (syn. Neophron percnopterus).

antarctica / antarcticus
L. antarcticus  southern, antarctic  < Gr. ανταρκτικος antarktikos  antarctic  < αντι anti  opposite; αρκτος arktos  north.
● Tierra del Fuego; ex “Antarctic Goose” of Latham 1785 (syn. Chloephaga hybrida).
● Antarctic Ocean; ex “Procellaria glacialis, var. β” of Latham 1790 (syn. Fulmarus glacialoides).
● "The vast Island or rather Continent of Australia, Australasia, or New Holland ... Antarctic Pigeon ... Its most distinguishing character is the elegant semi-pendent occipital crest" (Shaw 1794) (Lopholaimus).
● Falklands Is., New Zealand and New Holland; ex “Statenland Eagle” of Latham 1781 (syn. Phalcoboenus australis).
● Within the Antarctic Circle between lat. 36º S and 61º S; ex “Petrel brun et blanc” of de Bougainville 1771, “Antarctic Peteril” of Cook 1777, and Latham 1785, and “Pétrel Antarctique” or “Damier brun” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Thalassoica).

SUBSPECIES

Brown Skua (Subantarctic)
SCI Name: Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi

Brown Skua (Falkland)
SCI Name: Stercorarius antarcticus antarcticus
antarctica / antarcticus
L. antarcticus  southern, antarctic  < Gr. ανταρκτικος antarktikos  antarctic  < αντι anti  opposite; αρκτος arktos  north.
● Tierra del Fuego; ex “Antarctic Goose” of Latham 1785 (syn. Chloephaga hybrida).
● Antarctic Ocean; ex “Procellaria glacialis, var. β” of Latham 1790 (syn. Fulmarus glacialoides).
● "The vast Island or rather Continent of Australia, Australasia, or New Holland ... Antarctic Pigeon ... Its most distinguishing character is the elegant semi-pendent occipital crest" (Shaw 1794) (Lopholaimus).
● Falklands Is., New Zealand and New Holland; ex “Statenland Eagle” of Latham 1781 (syn. Phalcoboenus australis).
● Within the Antarctic Circle between lat. 36º S and 61º S; ex “Petrel brun et blanc” of de Bougainville 1771, “Antarctic Peteril” of Cook 1777, and Latham 1785, and “Pétrel Antarctique” or “Damier brun” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Thalassoica).

Brown Skua (Tristan)
SCI Name: Stercorarius antarcticus hamiltoni
hamiltoni / hamiltonii
● Hamilton Bartlett Mathews (1873-1959) brother of Australian ornithologist Gregory M. Mathews (syn. Acanthiza apicalis albiventris, syn. Ardenna pacifica).
● Robert Hamilton Mathews (1841-1918) Australian surveyor, anthropologist, father of ornithologist Gregory M. Mathews (syn. Anseranas semipalmata).
● Alexander Greenlaw Hamilton (1852-1941) Irish/Australian botanist, naturalist, President of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1916 (syn. Casuarius casuarius).
● Dr James Erik Hamilton (1891-1957) British government scientist in the Falkland Is. 1919-1957 (subsp. Catharacta antarctica).
● A. Hamilton (fl. 1890) New Zealand farmer, collector (‡syn. Circus teauteensis, ‡syn. Megalapteryx didinus).
● Claud Hamilton (fl. 1900) explorer, collector in Colombia and Ecuador (syn. Coeligena lutetiae).
● Dr Francis Buchanan later known as Francis Hamilton (1762-1829) Scottish surgeon in the East India Company 1794-1815, geographer, zoologist, botanist, explorer, collector in Nepal and India (subsp. Lophura leucomelanos).