Definition of "skua" [sku•a]

• Any of several large predatory sea birds of the genus Catharacta related to the jaeger, especially the great skua. (noun)
• Chiefly British See jaeger. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The skua is only too happy to tell Mumble about his abduction by aliens, while the other birds groan and lament the retelling of a tale they’ve apparently heard too much about."
• "And further, past the valley, over the foothills, the crowds of Emperor penguins, the flocks of skua overhead, and the elephant seals sunning themselves on the rocky shore."
• "Then, in one small part of the angry sea, there was panic as a great skua appeared and harried one young gannet until it dropped to the sea and dived."