LAEID^. ' 85 



it. This appears to be the only means of subsistence with this Lestris, as we never 

 observed them fishing like the rest of the Gulls." But neither of these names are very 

 distinguishable, as all the European members of this subfamily are both arctic and 

 parasitie. 



Mr. Booth, in his ' Catalogue of Birds,' says : — " This bird may still be found breeding 

 in many parts of the North of Scotland and the adjacent islands, the nest being placed 

 on the open moor. On land, as at sea, the Arctic Skua for the most part procures its 

 food by robbery ; those that I have seen on Strathmore usually persecuting the unfortunate 

 Common Gulls that have the misfortune to nest in the same locality. Fish, as a rule, 

 is their diet, but this they occasionally vary with eggs, swallowing, I believe, the whole 

 or the greater part of the shell, as I have often noticed castings composed entirely of 

 egg-shells on the mounds where these birds are in the habit of resting." 



Concerning their extraordinary variations of plumage, Mr. Booth says there is no rule 

 for the colouring of either sex. He also gives the following account of their thievish 

 propensities : — " In the autumn these birds are very numerous off the northern coast 

 wherever Kittiwakes are plentiful. When the boats are hauling their long lines for 

 'haddies' and whiting, hundreds of Gulls are attracted to the spot for the fish that fall 

 from the hook while being lifted on board ; these they suatch up within a foot or two 

 of the boats, but are frequently forced to disgorge, should a Skua be near at hand. The 

 robber appears to take no notice of the Gull if sitting on the water, beyond watching it 

 intently; but the moment it rises on wing he attacks it." 



Mr. Yarrell says the eggs are two in number, olive-brown, spotted with dark brown, 

 and the nests of dry grass and mosses in low, marshy, unfrequented heaths. 



These birds have been seen in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall ; 

 so we might expect to see them anywhere in the English Channel. It has also been met 

 with at the Cape of Good Hope. 



The following description is from Yarrell's 'British Birds' (vol. iii. p. 492) : — "The 

 young bird during its first autumn and winter has the base of the beak and the cere 

 brownish-grey, the anterior portion conspicuously curved and black ; the irides dark brown ; 

 the head and neck pale brown, streaked with dark brown ; the back, wing-coverts, and 

 tertials umber-brown, margined with wood-brown ; wing-primaries brownish-black, tipped 

 with pale brown ; tail-feathers pale brown at the base, then brownish-black to the end ; 

 the central pair half an inch longer than the others ; neck in front, breast, belly, and 

 tinder tail-coverts pale yellowish wood-brown, mottled and transversely barred with umber- 

 brown ; legs and the base of the toes yellow, the ends of the toes and the anterior portion 



