THE SKUA GULL 



229 



Key to tJie Genera. 



The two middle tail feathers projecting. Stercorarins. 



Two middle tail feathers not longer. Megalestris. 



Genus Stercorarins. 

 Size smaller, fomi slender. Tarsus distinctly shorter than the 

 middle toe with its claw. Central tail feathers projecting three 

 inches or more in adults. 



(.Meyer.) 



The Skua Gull. 



Stercorarins crepiclatus. 

 Back and wing-coverts brownish cinereous; top of the head brown; 

 neck and breast white; abdomen dusky. Quills and tail black; two long 

 narrow plumes from the tail. Eye chestnut brown. Length of the wing 

 13 in.; of the tarsus, 1.75 in. Breeds in the Arctic regions, and passes 

 south in the winter. It has not been recorded from the coasts of the 

 South Island. 



Genus Megalestris. 

 Size larger, form robust. Tarsus rather shorter than the middle 

 toe with its claw. Tail short, the middle feathers only projecting 

 for half-an-inch. 



