I52 The Irish Maturahsi. August, 
SOME NOTES ON THE MIGRATION OF RICHARD- 
SON'S AND POMATORHINE SKUAS. 
BY ROBERT WARREN. 
During my long residence at Moy View, Co. Sligo, on the 
shore of the Moy estuary, I have been fortunate in discover- 
ing two direct Hues of migration followed every season. 
One, that of Richardson's and the Pomatorhine Skuas, at 
the end of September and through October, on their 
southern journey ; the second, that of the White Wagtails, 
Motacilla alba, on their spring northern movement. 
During calm fine weather, the skuas on their passage 
keep at such a height as to be unseen or unnoticed, which 
fact I verified one day in the last week of September, as I 
was in the harvest field, with my workmen cutting oats, 
when about 11 o'clock, chancing to look upward, I saw a 
party of eleven dark -coloured birds passing awa}^ to the 
south-west ; they were at such a height as to be barely 
visible (not appearing larger than swallows), and only for 
their long tails showing clear against the blue sky, I would 
not have known them to be skuas. 
I first observed skuas on the 8th of October, 185 1. My 
brother first noticed a little flock of six birds coming in 
from the north, and passing over Bartragh at an immense 
height, and crossing the country to the south-west. Later 
in the day, as we were returning from Killala, I observed 
another flock of eight coming in, and passing away in the 
same course (to the south-west) as the first flock. At that 
time the weather had been fine and calm, but shortly after 
it changed to showery and stormy, which held on till the 
15th, which was very stormy, blowing from the south- 
west, on which morning my brother and I observed several 
small detached flocks of skuas coming from the north; 
these, after passing over the sandhills, lowered their flight, 
and flew low over the estuary and along the river for more 
than a mile, and then directed their course across the 
country to the south-west. We remained until 12 o'clock 
watching these small flocks coming in and passing away 
