al 
180 BIRD GALLERY. 
chiefly of deer-grass and dwarf alpine plants. Patches of the little pink 
flower Silene acaulis (some nearly a square yard in extent) abounded in 
the proximity of the nest exhibited, and contrasted strikingly in colour 
with the otherwise sombre surroundings. The eggs, three in number, 
are yellowish-olive heavily blotched and spotted with brownish-black ; 
they are laid early in June, and are remarkably difficult to find, owing 
to the fact that the parent, if sitting, will allow itself to be almost 
trodden on before it leaves the nest. 
Banffshire, 3300 feet elevation, June. 
Presented by Captain S. G. Reid, W. R. Ogilvie-Grant & 
G. A. St. Quintin, [sqrs. 
No. 118. ARCTIC or RICHARDSON’S SKUA. 
(Stercorarius crepidatus, ) 
This cireumpolar species, most common on the northern and eastern 
coasts of Great Britain, breeds in the north of Scotland and has nume- 
rous colonies on the Shetlands, Orkneys, and Outer Hebrides. It feeds 
principally on fish obtained by robbing the smaller Gulls and Terns; 
but is also said to prey on wounded birds and on the eggs of other sea- 
fowl. Two brownish-green eggs, blotched with dark brown, are laid 
in a hollow in the moss or grass of the open moorland in the vicinity 
of the coast. 
‘Two distinct phases of plumage occur, one being entirely sooty, while 
the other has light under-parts : in the pairs exhibited, the light-coloured 
specimen is a male. 
Island of Mousa, Shetlands, June. 
Presented by Lieut. G. H. Bruce, R.N. 
No. 118a. LONG-TAILED or BUFFON’S SKUA. 
(Stercorarius parasiticus.) 
This cireumpolar species is a regular migrant to the British Islands 
but does not breed there, its nesting-places being farther to the north. 
Like its allies it feeds on fish taken from Gulls and Terns, while worms, 
’ 
insects and crustaceans, as well as small birds and lemmings, also form 
part of its diet. The eggs, usually two in number, are laid on the 
ground in a slight hollow, and are smaller and greener than those of 
the Arctic Skua. 
Lapland, June. 
Presented by J. Stares & I, A. Davies, Esqrs. 
