262 OUR RARER BIRDS 



grass and dead leaves. Here the female lays two and some- 

 times three eggs, olive-brown and reddish-brown of various 

 shades in ground colour, spotted, blotched, and sometimes 

 streaked with dark brown and pale gray. It is almost im- 

 possible to distinguish them from those of the Common and 

 Black-headed Gulls. The note of this bird is a loud chatter- 

 ing kind of cry. 



The second species is the Great Skua {Lestris catarrhactes), 

 whose only claim for notice here is the fact that it breeds in 

 one or two localities in the Shetlands, where it is jealously 

 preserved from extinction. It is more of an oceanic species 

 than the preceding, otherwise closely resembling it in its 

 habits, food, and mode of obtaining it. At the end of April 

 the birds quit all our southern coasts and seas, and visit their 

 moorland haunts for the purpose of nesting. The eggs are 

 laid in May, and as soon as the young can fly the land is 

 practically deserted for the open sea. This bird is very bold 

 at the nest, and swoops angrily round the intruder's head as 

 he examines its home. The nest is slight, and the eggs, 

 only two in number, resemble very closely those of the 

 Herring Gull, but the markings are not so clearly defined. 

 The large size, dark colour, and only slightly rounded tail are 

 sufficient characters to distinguish this species. 



