skua
noun
ˈskyü-ə 
: any of various seabirds (genus Catharacta) related to the jaegers: such as
a
: great skua
b
: a bird (C. maccormicki) that resembles but is slightly smaller than the great skua and that breeds in the Antarctic
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Modest numbers of Cory’s, great, sooty, and Manx shearwaters were spotted at Race Point in Provincetown, where a South Polar skua, two parasitic jaegers, and 300 roseate terns were also observed. 
BostonGlobe.com, 14 Aug. 2021 The rats—brought to the island by whalers and sealers as early as the late 18th century—ate the eggs and vulnerable chicks of seabirds, including albatrosses, skua, terns, and petrels. National Geographic, 9 May 2018
BostonGlobe.com, 14 Aug. 2021 The rats—brought to the island by whalers and sealers as early as the late 18th century—ate the eggs and vulnerable chicks of seabirds, including albatrosses, skua, terns, and petrels. National Geographic, 9 May 2018 Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Faeroese skúgvur; akin to Old Norse skūfr tassel, skua, Old English scēaf sheaf — more at sheaf
First Known Use
1678, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing skua
- desert sweet
- desert tortoise
- desert trumpet
- desert trumpet flower
- desert varnish
- desert willow
- deserted
- deserter
- deserters
- desertest
- desertic
- deserticolous
- desertification
- desertifications
- desertify
- deserting
- desertion
- desertions
- desertless
- desertlessly
- desertlike
- desertness
- deserts
- desertscape
- desertthorn