662 



GA VJ.E. 



LARIDiE. 



LARID.E 



Stercorarius catarrhactes (Linnaeus*). 

 THE GKEAT SKUA. 



Lestris cataractes. 



Stercorarius, Jirissoni. — Bill strong, hard, cylindrical, formed for cutting ; 

 compressed, curved, and hooked at the point ; base of the upper mandible 

 covered with a cere. Nostrils situated towards the point of the beak, diagonal, 

 narrow, closed behind, pervious. Lei,'s strong, naked above the tarsi, which are 

 rather long ; three toes in front, palmated ; the hind toe small ; claws large, 

 strong, very much curved. Tail slightly rounded, the two middle feathers 

 elongated, sometimes considerably. Wings moderate, the first quill-feather the 

 longest. 



The various species of the genus Stercorarius have long 



* Larus Cafarractes, Linn:cus, Syst. Nat. Kd. 12, i. p. 22(5 (1766). 

 t Ornithologie. vi. p. 150 (1760). 



