THE SKUA. 391 



the Terns, soared high in the air, or skimmed the 

 surface of the water, the procession swelling in 

 numbers as it passed southTv^ard. 



On another occasion I saw an OsjDrey, which for 

 the greater part of a week had frequented in early 

 morning the mouth of the river Don, hunted up 

 the stream as far as the new bridge by an adult 

 Skua. The Skua was the undoubted master of the 

 Osprey, whose frequent attempts to turn the course 

 of his antagonist were entirely abortive. In its 

 thrusts with the Osprey the flight of the Skua 

 was grand and dignified beyond that of any British 

 bird^the Golden Eagle alone excej)ted. Both fell 

 victims to the gun, the subsequent fortunes of the 

 dead Skua being by no means ignoble. Shortly 

 afterwards Mr. J. C. Hook, R.A., wished to illustrate 

 Bewick's description of the ferocity of the species 

 when defending its nest from the attacks of 

 robbers. Having failed to procure a specimen in 

 JLondon, he requested the late Mr. Macdonald, of 

 Keppelston, with whom he was on intimate terms, 

 to endeavour to obtain one for him. My own 

 collection at the time being the only one in 

 Aberdeen that contained an example of the 

 Bonxie, I "willingly gave the bird to Mr. Macdonald 

 for presentation to the artist. The mounting of 

 the specimen was personally superintended by Mr. 

 Hook; and it served for the model of the bird in 

 his picture, which was exhibited in the Royal 

 Academy of 1873. The entry in the Catalogue of 

 the Academy for that year is as follows : 



254— The Bonxie, Shetland, J. C. Hook, R.A. 



"They who are about to rob their nests, hold a knife 

 or other sharp instrument over their heads, upon 

 which the enraged bird precipitates and transfixes 

 itself. " — Bewick. 



The j)icture is clever enough in the manner of the 

 artist, and is redeemed from absolute failure by 

 passages of sea which alternately darken and glow 

 under the movement of the clouds. As is usual 



