688 GREAT SKUA. 



while in Iceland it is still abundant on the Vestmanna Islands, and 

 has four or five smaller settlements. There is no evidence of its 

 nesting within Norwegian waters, where it is scarce at any season ; 

 and although it can be traced in winter to the Straits of Gibraltar, 

 or a little further southward, it seldom enters the Mediterranean ; 

 it has, however, wandered to the lakes of Switzerland, and in 1882 

 to the Province of Verona. Though very rare in South Greenland, 

 it appears to breed on some islands to the north of Hudson Strait ; 

 and it is not uncommon on the fishing-banks down to New 

 England, in winter. Its reported occurrence across the Fur regions 

 and in the North Pacific is not confirmed by any recent explorer. 

 On both sides of South America, from lat. 12'^ S. to the Straits of 

 Magellan, its representative is M. ihi/ensis, which has bright 

 chestnut under-parts and axillaries ; while in the Falkland Islands 

 and throughout the Southern Ocean we find M. antarciica, a 

 stouter, sooty-brown species ; and in Victoria Land, lat. 71-76 S., 

 long. 1 71-178 E., M. maccorniicki, a very pale representative. 



The nest — a cavity in the moss and heather of the highest moor- 

 lands — is prepared in the latter half of May ; and the eggs, 2 in 

 number, are olive-brown or pale olive-green with darker markings : 

 measurements 2 "8 by 2 in. When handling a nestling, I found the 

 parents unremitting in their assaults ; they came down at full speed, 

 almost skimming the ground, until, at about fifteen yards' distance, 

 the strong feet with their hooked claws were lowered and held 

 stiffly out, producing for the moment a very ungainly appearance ; 

 but on quickly lifting the hand or stick, the bird rose again, while the 

 whirr and vibration of its pinions could be distinctly heard and felt. 

 The stomachs of a pair shot on the Faeroes were full of the flesh of 

 the Kittiwake, and the castings consisted of the bones and feathers 

 of that bird ; Heysham has recorded the capture of an adult in 

 the act of killing a Herring-Gull; and fish and offal are often eaten. 

 The cry is skui, skiii; whence the bird's name. 



The adult has the head and throat dark brown mottled with 

 rufous ; nape covered with yellowish-brown acuminate feathers ; 

 upper parts dark brown, mottled with chestnut and dull white ; quills 

 umber-brown, with white bases which are conspicuous in flight; tail- 

 feathers umber, the central pair projecting about "5 in. ; under-parts 

 rufous-brown ; under wing-coverts blackish ; bill, legs and feet black, 

 the claws hooked and sharp. Length 21 in., wing 16 in. The 

 sexes are alike externally ; and the young bird scarcely differs from 

 the adults, except in the greater freshness of its plumage. Melan- 

 otic varieties are occasionally met with. 



