A dark heavy-built predator rules the subantarctic skies. It does so with an iron wing and a piratical attitude. The subantarctic skua is the largest of the skuas found in New Zealand waters. It is built like a fighter jet with anger management issues. This comparison is apt. It is a master of the air. It is a terror to smaller seabirds. It is a scavenger of dead things on the shore. Fear is not part of its repertoire. Humans who wander too close to its nest learn this quickly. Proximity is punished. The bird does not negotiate. It acts. Plumage varies from dark brown to pale rufous. Variation is common. The bill is thick and hooked. Feet are webbed and clawed. This is a bird designed to kill scavenge and steal. It is good at all three. Competence is total. Specialisation is unnecessary when versatility works. The bird adapts. It takes what is available. It does not wait for permission. It seizes opportunity. It is efficient. It is ruthless. It survives. Feeding involves fish squid and krill. Eggs and chicks of other seabirds are also eaten. Penguin colonies are a favourite target. A subantarctic skua working a penguin rookery is methodical. It watches. It waits. It runs in. An egg or chick is snatched. It runs out. Efficiency is key. Hesitation is fatal. Theft is a valid strategy. The skua knows this. It exploits weakness. It targets the vulnerable. It is a parasite in the truest sense. It lives off the labour of others. Scavenging happens at seal colonies. Placentas and dead pups are consumed. The smell of a seal rookery draws skuas from kilometres away. Olfaction guides movement. Opportunity is seized. Waste is eliminated. Nature recycles. The skua facilitates this process. It is not polite about it. It tears into the flesh. It consumes the remains. It leaves nothing behind. The cycle continues. The skua plays its part. It is a cleaner. It is a scavenger. It is essential. Breeding takes the species to remote subantarctic islands. The nest is a shallow scrape on a tussock slope or rocky ridge. Two eggs arrive. Both parents share incubation duties. Defence is aggressive. A skua defending its nest will dive at intruders. It aims for the head. Warning is physical. Pain is the message. Retreat is the expected response. The bird does not bluff. It strikes. It protects its young with ferocity. It is a devoted parent. It is a violent guardian. Chicks hatch covered in thick down. Growth is quick. Fledging occurs at about seven weeks. Parents continue to feed them even after fledging. Support extends beyond independence. This is unusual. It ensures survival. The investment is high. The return is critical. The parents do not abandon their offspring. They stay. They provide. They protect. The bond is strong. The family unit persists. In New Zealand subantarctic skuas are confined to the subantarctic islands. They do not breed on the mainland. A few wander north after the breeding season. They turn up on South Island beaches. Vagrancy is occasional. Presence is transient. The mainland is not home. It is a visit. The bird prefers the cold. It prefers the isolation. It prefers the wild. The call is a harsh chattering 'kee-kee-kee'. It is often given in flight. Another bird entering the territory triggers it. Noise marks boundaries. Sound asserts dominance. The sky is claimed. The claim is enforced. That is the order.