130 MANUAL 



STERNiNyE. — Covering of bill continuous. Nostrils 

 opening in the basal third of the bill. Cnlmen gently 

 curved to the tip of the lengthened and attenuated bill. 

 Body rather slender. Wing lengthened. Tail usually 

 deeply forked. 



Rhynchopin.t:. — Bill excessively compressed, like the 

 blade of a knife. Lower jaw much longer than the 

 upper ; the point obtuse. Body slender ; tail forked." 



Sub-family a LESTRIDINiE Skua or Jager Gull 



The SkiKt or J<((/cr Gid/s are most extraordinary birds. At 

 first sight they resembl the smaller sj)ecies of Hawks ; a sec- 

 ond view of them makes them appear dark-colored Terns. 

 The immense cered mandibles strengthen the former idea, and 

 their graceful, powerful, and wonderful agility of wing and 

 power of flight the latter. When viewed near to they appar- 

 ently turn out to be neither, and the young student cries out 

 excitedly, ' What can it be ? ' The Shuts have been the sub- 

 ject of a great deal of study and speculation. They have been 

 variously classed by different writers and have received a large 

 number of generic appellations, but have now been reduced 

 to a single well-established g«uus. They are arctic-temperate 

 rather than tropical-temperate species. The genus is thus 

 characterized in Professor Baird's Beport (p. 838) : " Stevco- 

 rariu.s, Buissox. Bill rather strong ; culmen straight and 

 covered at the base with a smooth cere, the end curved. Nos- 

 trils linear and more open anteriorly. AVings pointed ; first 

 quill longest. Tail of moderate length ; the two middle feath- 

 ers elongated, Tarsi strong, and curved with prominent 

 scales ; claws sharp and much curved. Feet fully webbed ; 

 hind toe short and but little elevated." 

 Genus, Siercorarius, 4 species. 



There are, properlj- speaking, no sub-genera, unless the name Megalestvis 

 for the Skua Gull (in distinction from the other three which are true 

 Jagers) be such. The names Lestris, Caiarracta, and Bupliagus are only 

 SYNONYMNs for StercorariiLs. 



