THE GLAUCOUS GULL. 591 



later Bruniiich gave it the name of Glaucous Gull ; but 

 it is still called Burgomaster by the Dutch, and by Arctic 

 voyagers generally. 



Mr. St. John gives the name of "VVagel to the Great 

 Grey Gull. 



THE COMMON SKUA. 



LESTRIS CATARACTES. 



Upper plumage brown, of several shades ; shafts of the quills, basal half of 

 the primaries, and shafts of the tail-feathers, white ; under, reddish grey, 

 tinged with brown ; two central tail-feathers but slightly elongated, not 

 tapering ; tarsus two and a half inches long, somewhat rough at the back. 

 Length tweuty-tive inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched with brown. 



The Skuas, called also Skua Gulls, are sufficiently dis- 

 tinguished from the true Gulls by their strong hooked 

 bills and talons, and by the habits of daring and vora- 

 city founded on these characters. The present species, 

 though called common, is only to be so considered in 

 high latitudes ; for it is very rarely seen on the coasts of 

 England, and has become scarce even in the Shetland 

 Islands, where it "vvas at one time frequent. Mr. Dunn* 

 says : " T never saw this bird in Orkney, and there are 

 only three places in Shetland where it breeds — viz. Eoula, 

 Eona's Hill, and the Isle of Mist : in the latter place it 

 is by no means numerous, and is . strictly preserved by 

 the landlords, on whose property it may have settled, 

 from a superstition that it will defend their flocks from 

 the attacks of the Eagle. That it will attack the Eagle 

 if he approaches their nests is a fact I have witnessed : 

 I once saw a pair completely beat off a large Eagle from 

 their breeding place, on Eona's Hill. The flight of the 

 Skua is stronger and more rapid than that of any other 

 GulL It is a great favourite with the fishermen, fre- 

 quently accompanying their boats to the fishing-ground, 



•Ornithologist's Guide to Oj'kuey an^l She'land, p. 112. 



