ARCTIC SKUA. 355 



three might be found any day. September 25th brong-ht 

 a second year bird ; October 2nd I refused another ; " 

 and in October of the same year an immature speci- 

 men was killed at Lynn ; on 2nd September, 1853, 

 Mr. Dowell bought two young arctic skuas of a 

 Blakeney gunner. In the middle of September, 1854, 

 Mr. Gurney received one of these birds with great 

 skuas from Yarmouth. In 1858 Mr. Stevenson writes, 

 " October 20th, four at Sayer's shot from the herring- 

 boats off Yarmouth ; 24th, two more. Of these six 

 three were in immature plumage of the second year, 

 an uniform brownish tint, with the middle tail-feather 

 projecting about three inches ; and the others had 

 attained very nearly their adult state, the under parts 

 being white with the exception of a few dusky markings 

 remaining more or less on throat and breast." In the 

 "Zoologist" for 1861 (p. 7818) is a notice by Mr. W. 

 Winter, of Aldeby, of one killed in the fens at Horning, 

 on the 9th of November, during a snow storm ; and 

 Captain Longe has a fine young male procured in No- 

 vember, 1862, on Breydon, after a heavy gale; on 

 the 25th September, 1863, Mr. Dowell saw at Hun- 

 stanton a beautiful arctic skua, which chased two 

 terns within ten yards of him, and he says " its 

 power of wing was wonderful." Mr. Stevenson records 

 in the " Zoologist " for 1866 (p. 85) the occurrence of a 

 number of skuas, divers, gannets, &c., off Yarmouth, 

 attracted by the large shoals of herrings, among 

 which, on the 10th November, 1865, was an immature 

 arctic skua. About 4th October, 1867, after severe 

 north-west gales, one of these birds was killed at Lynn, 

 and another on 24th November, 1869, on the coast, a 

 very dark bird in immature plumage (" Zoologist," 1870, 

 p. 2058). In the month of October, 1870, a like abund- 

 ance of herrings, as in 1865, brought the usual attend- 

 ance of skuas, and one of this species was killed on the 

 4th, an immature bird having been previously met with 

 on 27th August, at Blakeney. On the 13th May, 1871, 

 an arctic skua was shot in Brooke wood, near Norwich, 

 a most unusual time and place, and there had been no 

 severe weather to account for its appearance (" Zoolo- 

 gist," 1871, p. 2829) ; and on the- 22nd August of the 

 2 w 2 



