Avifauna of Franz Josef Land. 269 



Sie7'corarius crepidatus and * Skuas/ Nansen, op. cit. ii. 

 pp. 326, 350, 414. 



There is, perhaps, some little doubt as to whether all the 

 Skuas that have been observed by the various explorers of 

 Franz Josef Land should be assigned to one species, namely, 

 the Arctic or Richardson^s Skua. Mr. Bruce considers that 

 the Skua which nests at Cape Flora belongs to this species ; 

 and Dr. Nansen tells us that the species seen by him was 

 Stercorarius crepidatus. The other writers named in the 

 bibliography given above were in doubt as to the identity of 

 the species which came under their notice. 



As yet Ave know little about this Skua and its distribution 

 in the archipelago. At Cape Flora, in the south, it nests in 

 some numbers on the lowlands near the shore. lu the north- 

 east Dr. Nansen observed this bird in the summer of 1895, 

 and in the autumn at Frederick Jackson Island, where it was 

 busily engaged chasing the Kittiwakes. He also saw it at the 

 same island in the spring of 1896. 



[On the 15th of April, 1897, Mr. Wilton saw the first 

 Skua. It is not uninteresting to note that it was only on 

 the day before and on this day that the Kittiwakes arrived. 



Several pairs of Arctic Skuas were nesting about Cape 

 Flora. We found the first nest, containing eggs, on the 

 27th of June, and on the 3rd of July another was found 

 with eggs. The birds played antics when their nests were 

 approached, pretending to be maimed in some way and trying 

 to lure one after them. The Skuas also swooped down upon 

 our dogs when they were near the nests. 



I saw the Pomatorhine Skua [Stercorarius pomatorhinus) 

 on the voyage out and home, but not actually on Franz 

 Josef Land, though we shot it before we were out of the 

 ice.— W. S. B.] 



18. *Uria mandti Licht. 



Uria mandti and Grylle columba Payer, op. cit. ii. p. 91. 

 Uria grylle Feilden, t. c. p. 209; Neale, P. Z. S. 1882, 

 pp. 652, 653 ; Nansen, op. cit. ii. pp. 199, 410. 



Mr. Bruce brought back with him a number of specimens 



