SKUA. 



parasitic gull. 

 Megalestris skua. 



Char. Upper parts sooty brown, varied with reddish brown and dull 

 white, the nape spotted with buff , wings and tail brown, shading to 

 white at the base, which on the wing forms a conspicuous patch when in 

 flight ; under parts paler brown, the breast varied with rufous , bill, legs, 

 and feet, black. Length about 22 inches. 



Nest. On an inaccessible ocean island ; a hollow pressed in the moss 

 and sparsely lined with grass and a few feathers. 



Eggs. 1-3 (usually 2); pale to dark buff or bufifish brown, sometimes 

 with a slight tinge of olive, marked with darker brown and gray ; average 

 size about 2.80 X 2.00. 



This Sea-Falcon, with raptorial beak and claws, and Hawk-like 

 quality of character, — preying upon the weak and the small of its 

 own race, robbing those it cannot kill, and by way of individuality 

 adding to its relish for flesh and fish a partiality for eggs, — this 



