RICHARDSON S SKUA. 337 



the eggs of these birds in large numbers and feeds upon 

 any carrion or garbage it can pick up. It will also eat 

 insects and fruit. Its flight has been compared to the 

 flight of a Hawk. 



The nest is a slight hollow in the ground, lined with 



RICHARDSON S SKUA. 



a few stalks of grass and sometimes a few leaves. It 

 is placed on the open moors and is not easy to find. 

 Eggs are obtained in June. 



The number of eggs is generally two, they are olive 

 green or olive brown in ground colour, spotted with 

 dark brown and a few underlying spots of greyish 

 brown. Their shape varies very much. Many of the 

 eggs of the Common Gull and Black-headed Gull 

 closely resemble them. It is said that the bird when 

 sitting will feign lameness or a broken wing, and will 

 adopt other devices to draw ofl^ the attention of an 

 intruder from the nest. 



22 



