Skúvoy or Skúgvoy ( da, Skuø) is an island in the central

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, located to the south of Sandoy. It is named after the large number of

great skua The great skua (''Stercorarius skua''), sometimes known by the name bonxie in Britain, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is roughly the size of a herring gull. It mainly eats fish caught at the sea surface or taken fr ...

present on the island (who have a habit of attacking intruders). There is only one settlement on the island:

Skúvoy Skúvoy or Skúgvoy ( da, Skuø) is an island in the central Faroe Islands, located to the south of Sandoy. It is named after the large number of great skua present on the island (who have a habit of attacking intruders). There is only one se ...

on the east coast. There are two mountains: Knúkur (392 m) and Heyggjurin Mikli (391 m).

History

The

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

in the 14th century killed all the inhabitants except one woman; her cottage can still be seen. Skúvoy was also the home of

Sigmundur Brestisson Sigmundur Brestisson (961–1005) was a Faroese Viking chieftain, and was responsible for introducing Christianity to the Faroe Islands in 999. He is one of the main characters of the Færeyinga saga. According to the Færeyinga saga, emigrant ...

, the hero of the Færeyinga saga (Saga of the Faroese).

Bird habitat

There are 300–400 m cliffs along the west coast, which are home to many

guillemot Guillemot is the common name for several species of seabird in the Alcidae or auk family (part of the order Charadriiformes). In British use, the term comprises two genera: ''Uria'' and ''Cepphus''. In North America the ''Uria'' species are c ...

s. Egg harvesting takes place in early June, though this occurs in the first week only so as to allow the guillemots to lay again. The island has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because of its significance as a breeding site for

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

s, especially

northern fulmar The northern fulmar (''Fulmarus glacialis''), fulmar, or Arctic fulmar is a highly abundant seabird found primarily in subarctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. There has been one confirmed sighting in the Southern Hemis ...

s (50,000 pairs),

Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an ...

s (10,000 pairs), European storm petrels (20,000 pairs),

s (25 pairs),

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin is found in the northeastern ...

s (40,000 pairs), common guillemots (135,000 pairs) and

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

s (150 pairs), as well as 40 breeding pairs of

Eurasian whimbrel The Eurasian whimbrel or common whimbrel (''Numenius phaeopus'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Asia and Europe as far south as Scotland. This specie ...

s.BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Skúvoy. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-02-23. File:Ferry Sandur-Skuvoy.JPG, The Skúvoy ferry in Sandur harbour File:Faroe stamp 373 skuvoy.jpg, Stamp FR 373 of Postverk Føroya
Issued: 22 May 2000
Photo:

Per á Hædd Per á Hædd is a Faroese photographer based in Tórshavn whose photographs were featured on stamps issued in 1999: Image:Faroe_stamp_348_kalsoy.jpg, Kalsoy Image:Faroe_stamp_349_vidoy.jpg, Viðoy Image:Faroe_stamp_350_svinoy.jpg, Svinoy Image:Far ...

File:Skuvoy map.jpg, Map of Skúvoy File:Skúvoy helicopter 2019.jpg, Skúvoy village

References

External links

personal website
with 9 aerial photos of Skúvoy Islands of the Faroe Islands Important Bird Areas of the Faroe Islands {{faroes-geo-stub