GAVIM. ( 293 ) LARID^. 



THE AECTIC, OR RICHARDSON'S SKUA. 



TEASER, SKAIT BIRD, DIRT BIRD, DIRTY ALLAN. 



Stercorarius cr^epidatus. 



Ignorant elf, ape, owl yrregular, 



Skaldit skaitbird, and commofi skandelair ; 

 Wansukkit funlin, that Nature made ane Vrle, 

 Baith John the Ross and thow sail squeil a?td skirle, 



Gifeir I heir ocht of your making mair. 



The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy, circa 1508. 



The Arctic, or Eichardson's Skua is sometimes seen on the 

 coasts of the county during the autumn and winter months, 

 being a visitor from the north. A mature male was shot 

 by Mr. Cotesworth on the farm of Whitefield, near Cowden 

 Knowes, on the 12th of November 1874,^ this being the 

 only instance of the bird having been found in any inland 

 district of Berwickshire. This Skua occurred in unusual 

 numbers from Coldingham to Cramond in the winter of 

 1874-75,^ when, as recorded by Mr. Hardy, a male and a 

 female were shot at Coldingham Shore.^ 



Eichardson's Skua may be distinguished from the Poma- 

 torhine Skua by its smaller size, and narrow, pointed, central 

 tail feathers. Like that bird, it has a powerful and rapid 

 flight, resembling that of a Hawk, and is a great robber of 

 Gulls and Terns, which it chases until they drop their prey. 

 It likewise feeds upon the eggs and young of other birds, 

 and garbage thrown up by the tide. 



Its principal breeding quarters are in the arctic regions. 



1 Hist. Ber. Nat. Club, vol. vii. p. 288. 2 ibid. vol. vii. p. 261. 



3 Ibid. vol. vii. p. 517. 



