346 BRITISH BIRDS. 



STERCORARIUS CATARRHACTES. 

 GREAT SKUA. 



(Plate 55.) 



Laius fiiscus, Briss. Orn. vi. p. 165 (1760). 



Larus catarractes, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 220 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum— 



(Temtninck), (^Naumann), {Dresser), (Saunders), &c. 

 Larus keeask, Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 818 (1790). 

 Catai-acta skua, Brimn., Eetz. Faun. Suec. p. 161 (1800, nee Briss.). 

 Lestris catharractes (Linn.), llliyer, Prodr. p. 273 (1811). 

 Catairacta fusca {Briss.), Leach, Syst. Cat. Mamtn. Sfc. Brit. Mns. p. 40 (1816). 

 Stercorarius catarrbactes {Linn.), Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxxii. p. 154 (1819). 

 Cataractes vulgaws, Flem. Brit. An. p. 137 (1828). 

 Stercorarius pomarinus, Vieill. Qui. des Ois. p. 220 (1834). 

 Megalestris catarrbactes {Linn.), Bonap. Cat. Parzud. p. 11 (1856). 

 Bupbagus skua {Brilnn.), Coues, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1863, p. 125. 

 Megalestris skua {Brilnn.), Ridgiu. Nom. N. Amer. Birds, p. 53 (1881). 



The only locality in the British Islands where the Great Skua is known 

 to breed is in the Shetlands^ and even there incessant persecution has 

 driven it from all its old stations, with the exception of one on Unst 

 and a second on the neighbouring island of Foula. It appears never to 

 have bred in the Orkneys, and to the rest of the United Kingdom it is 

 only an accidental straggler in autumn and winter. It occurs more or 

 less frequently along the entire cast and south coasts of England and 

 Scotland, but in the west it is much rarer, and it is seldom observed in 

 Ireland. It is sometimes driven inland by stormy weather. 



The Great Skua is an oceanic bird, and is only known to breed in 

 Iceland, the Faroes, and on the Shetlands, though it probably also breeds 

 in Arctic America. It occasionally visits the coasts of Norway, but there 

 is no satisfactory evidence of its breeding there. In winter it sometimes 

 strays as far as the coasts of Spain and Morocco, but is not known to 

 enter the jNIeditcrranean. It is an accidental visitor to Greenland, and 

 occasionally Adsits the Atlantic coasts of North America. It is said to 

 occur in the Arctic regions of America, and is recorded as far west as the 

 mouth of the JNIackcuzie River, whilst a solitary example has been obtained 

 in California. 



On both coasts of South America south of the tropics a nearly allied 

 form, Stercorarius chilensis, occurs, having a somewhat weaker bill, and 

 with the underparts and axillaries bright chestnut instead of brown. A 

 third form, S. antarcticus, inhabits the southern seas south of the tropics, 

 and is, to quote Saunders, " distinguished by its stout deep bill, with its 



