The skuas (Stercorariidae) are a family of seabirds with about seven species. The three smaller skuas are called jaegers in the Americas. Skuas are related to gulls, waders, auks, and skimmers.

The English word "skua" comes from the Faroese name skúgvur [ˈskɪkvʊər] for the Great Skua, with the island of Skúvoy renowned for its colony of that bird. The general Faroese term for skuas is kjógvi [ˈtʃɛkvə]. The word "jaeger" is derived from the German word Jäger, meaning "hunter".

Outside the breeding season, skuas take fish, offal, and carrion. Many are partial kleptoparasites, comprising up to 95% of the feeding methods of wintering birds, by chasing gulls, terns and other seabirds to steal their catches, regardless of the size of the species attacked (up to 3 times heavier than the attacking skua). The larger species, such as the Great Skua, also regularly kill and eat adult birds, such as puffins and gulls. On the breeding grounds they commonly eat lemmings, and the eggs and young of other birds. In the Southern oceans and Antarctica region, some skua species will readily scavenge the carcasses at breeding colonies of penguins, sometimes taking live penguin chicks.