672 GREAT SKUA. 



while in Iceland it is still abundant on the Vestmanna Islands, and has 

 four or five other settlements. There is no evidence of its nesting 

 within Norwegian waters, where it is scarce at any season ; and 

 although it can be traced southward in winter to the Straits of 

 Gibraltar, or a little further, it seldom enters the Mediterranean ; it 

 has, however, wandered to the lakes of Switzerland, and in 18S2 to 

 the province of Verona. It is very rare in South Greenland, but 

 appears to breed on some islands to the north of Hudson Strait, and 

 is not uncommon on the fishing-banks down to New England in 

 winter; its reported occurrence across the Fur regions and in the 

 North Pacific is, however, unconfirmed by any recent explorer. On 

 both sides of South America, from 12'^ S. lat. to the Straits of 

 Magellan, its representative is S. chilensis^ which has bright chestnut 

 under parts and axillaries ; while in the Falkland Islands and 

 throughout the Southern Ocean we find S. antardiais, a stouter, 

 sooty-brown species. 



The nest — a cavity in the moss and heather of the highest moor- 

 lands — is prepared in the latter half of May ; and the eggs, never 

 more than 2 in number, are olive-brown with darker markings : 

 average measurements 2 "8 by 2 in. When handling a nestling, I 

 found the parents unremitting in their assaults ; they came down at 

 full speed, almost skimming the ground, until, at about fifteen yards' 

 distance, the strong feet with their hooked claws were lowered and 

 held stiffly out — producing for the moment a very ungainly appear- 

 ance ; but on quickly raising the hand or stick, the bird rose again, 

 the whirr and vibration of its pinions being distinctly heard and felt. 

 The stomachs of a pair which were shot on the Faeroes were full of 

 the flesh of the Kittiwake, and the castings consisted of the bones 

 and feathers of that bird ; Heysham has recorded the capture of 

 an adult in the act of killing a Herring-Gull, while fish and offal 

 are often eaten. The cry is Skui, skui; whence the bird's name. 



The adult has the head and throat dark brown mottled with 

 rufous ; nape covered with yellowish-brown acuminate feathers ; 

 upper parts dark brown, mottled with chestnut and dull white ; quills 

 umber-brown, with 7u/uie bases — cotispicuous in JligJit ; under parts 

 rufous-brown ; under wing-coverts blackish ; bill, legs and feet black, 

 the claws hooked and sharp. Length 24-25 in., wing 16 in. The 

 sexes are alike externally ; the young bird scarcely differing from the 

 adults except in the greater freshness of its plumage. Melanistic 

 varieties are occasionally met with. 



