South polar skua

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/south-polar-skua

1. What is the scientific name?
2. What is the lifespan?
3. What does a South Polar Skua look like and how does it stay warm in the cold?
4. How does the South Polar Skua get its food?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Stercorarius maccormicki
2. What is the lifespan?Estimated 15-20 years in the wild
3. What does a South Polar Skua look like and how does it stay warm in the cold?The South Polar Skua has thick, warm feathers that keep it cozy in freezing air. Its strong legs and hooked claws help it catch fish and other prey.
4. How does the South Polar Skua get its food?It eats fish, squid, and krill, and it can catch them while swimming or grab them from other birds that drop their food. It also steals food from penguins, petrels, and terns.

Pelagic: Relating to or living in the open sea, far from land.
Biome: A large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat.
Altricial: Describing young animals that are helpless and require significant care from birth.
Bio-indicator: A species or organism whose presence, absence, or abundance reflects the condition of an environment.