McCORMICK'S SKUA GULL 



but leapt at one another into the air, and one of 

 the illustrations shows two Skuas in the act of doing 

 this. Their great spread of wing is well shown in 

 this photograph. (Fig. 71.) 



When penguins' eggs were plentiful in the 

 rookery the Skuas flew very low over the ground, 

 and as they passed over each colony of nests the 

 sitting birds would crouch low upon them, a very 

 necessary precaution, as I have described already 

 in these pages the unerring way in which the Skuas 

 picked up the penguins' eggs when they were left 

 uncovered. Broken and empty shells strewed the 

 ground in the vicinity of the Skuas' nests, and it is 

 probable that in a large rookery, such as that at 

 Cape Adare, thousands of eggs are destroyed by 

 them annually. 



The instinct of the thief is most strongly marked 

 in the Skua tribe, and I am afraid that the mere 

 love of thieving alone actuates them on many 

 occasions. For instance, when I was skinning a 

 seal one day near Cape Evans I left a pair of field- 

 glasses lying on a coat close by, and on looking 

 round saw a Skua in the act of making off with 

 them, holding them by the strap in his beak. A 

 sudden yell caused the offender to drop the glasses, 

 fortunately when they were but a yard from the 



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