ALCi-:— ALCIDT: 309 



Stercorarius longicaiidus \ icillot. I.riNc.-r.Mi.ED Skua. 

 S7('r,/. l-j,.ll;ibl). 



(^ 9 Above nuich paler brown than in "parasiticus"; crown 

 glossy deep brown, face and neck straw yellow, throat and chest 

 white, abdomen, under tail coverts, and tail smoky brown ; central 

 tail feathers long and tapering, 210-270 m.m. beyond others ; shafts 

 of 1st and 2nd primaries only white. liill black, olive green at 

 base above. Legs and feet dull blue grey, with black patches 

 on latter. Wing 298-327. Tarsus 40-44. Bill 24-28. Young : 

 above brown, with whitish or buff tips ; beneath brown mottled 

 and barred with white, under tail coverts brown barred white. 



Breeds. — N. Scandinavia, Lapland, Finland, X. Russia south 

 to Archangel, Nova Zembla, N. Siberia, Greenland, and probably 

 elsewhere in Arctic regions. Occurs sparingly in autumn and 

 winter in W. Europe, and Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Italy ; 

 also in Asia south to Japan and in America to Florida and Mexico. 

 Irregular on migration on British Coasts. 



ALCiE. 



Web-footed sea-birds ; secondaries and axillaries 

 short ; tail short and rounded, wedge-shaped ; hind 

 toe absent or rudimentary ; feet set far back ; powerful 

 swimmers and divers ; feed on fish, molluscs, crustaceans, 

 mostly obtained by diving. 



ALCIDiE. 



Characters those of " Alcie." 



Alga. 

 Bill sideways compressed, up[)er mandible decurvcd at tip ; 

 nares [)artly hidden by feathers ; tarsus shorter than middle 

 toe with claw; tail 12 feathers; nest on cliffs; one egg. 



Alca torda L. Razor iull. Fr. Pingouin macroptcre ; 

 Ger. Tordalk ; Idil. Ga/za marina; Swcd. Tordmulc. 



^ 9 summer. Head, throat, foreneck, and upper parts sooty 



