EGGS OF BEITISH BIRDS. 117 



The nest is a mere depression in the ground, scantily lined with 

 a little dry grass and occasionally a few dead leaves. 



Two is the normal number of eggs, but sometimes birds have 

 been found sitting on a solitary egg, and in rare instances three 

 eggs have been found in the same nest. Few eggs vary more in 

 shape than those of Eichardson's Skua, some being very long and 

 pointed, others almost round. They vary in ground-colour from 

 russet-brown to pale olive ; the overlying spots are dark brown, 

 sometimes almost black, generally evenly though somewhat 

 sparingly distributed over the entire surface, but occasionally 

 most of them are collected in a ring round the larger end, where 

 they are sometimes confluent ; the shape of the spot is very 

 fantastic, many of them are prolonged into streaks, and they vary 

 in size from that of a large pea downwards ; the underlying spots 

 are few, very inconspicuous, and pale greyish-brown in colour. 

 The eggs vary in length from 2"55 to 2"0 inches, and in breadth 

 from 1'7 to 1*55 inch. It is almost impossible to give any 

 character by which the eggs of this bird may be distinguished 

 from certain varieties of those of the Common Gull, Black-headed 

 Gull, and Pomatorhine Skua. 



BUFFON'S SKUA. 



(Stercorarius bujfoni.)* 



Plate 37, Fig. 5. 



Buffon's Skua, or the Long -tailed Skua, as it is sometimes 

 called, is a somewhat rare visitor on migration to the British 

 Islands. The range of the species is, during the breeding-season, 

 more northerly than that of Eichardson's Skua, and is confined 

 to the Arctic regions of both hemispheres. 



The nest is a slight depression in the grass or moss, lined 

 sparingly with a little dry grass. 



The number of eggs is almost invariably two ; but in very rare 

 instances one only, or as many as three, are reported to have been 

 found. They are precisely similar in colour to those of Eichard- 

 son's Skua, and are subject to the same variations, but on an 

 average they are slightly smaller in size. They vary in length 

 from 2'2 to 1*9 inch, and in breadth from 16 to 1'4 inch. 



* Stercorarius parasiticus — Saunders, Manual, p. 677. 



