Multimedia Gallery
Antarctic Wildlife--South polar skua
A south polar skua stretching its wings.
More about this image
The south polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki) is the most southerly bird in the world. Although they live around the coastal edges of Antarctica, they have been seen flying over the South Pole, over 850 miles (1,575 kilometers) from the coast. They are large birds, measuring approximately 21 inches (53 centimeter) in length.
Studies of chinstrap penguins is just one example of the many research projects supported by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). Other Antarctic study areas are aeronomy and astrophysics, biology and medicine, geology and geophysics, glaciology, and ocean and climate systems. Outreach such as the Antarctic Artists and Writers program and education programs are also supported. NSF also maintains three U.S. research stations on the continent.
For more information about USAP, visit the program's website. Or to view other Antarctic wildlife, search for "Antarctic wildlife" using the Multimedia Gallery's search engine. [Note: Please see "Special Restrictions" below regarding use of this image.] (Date of Image: January 2005)
Credit: Photo by Henry Kaiser, NSF
Special Restrictions: Note: Any commercial use of this image requires the photographer's permission.
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Images credited to the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, are in the public domain. The images were created by employees of the United States Government as part of their official duties or prepared by contractors as "works for hire" for NSF. You may freely use NSF-credited images and, at your discretion, credit NSF with a "Courtesy: National Science Foundation" notation.
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