THE BIRDS OF SOUTH GEORGIA 581 



If anyone approaches the neighbourhood of the nest the old birds attack and attempt 

 to drive away the intruder. Before he has approached closely the birds stand on some 

 rock or mound near the nest and, raising the wings, scream with the head pointed 

 downwards. At a closer approach they rise into the air and circle round, making a shrill 

 croaking noise and then suddenly swoop down at their enemy. They look extremely 

 fierce as they swoop head-on straight for one's face, but always rise above the head 

 when about a yard away, to repeat the attack from behind, when they will frequently 

 deal a heavy blow with one of the wings. If the intruder refuses to leave the neighbour- 

 hood they get tired of attacking and settle on the ground and start screaming again. 



The newly hatched nestling is clothed in light brown down. The bill is very dark 

 grey and the egg-tooth white (Plate XLVII, fig. 3). The iris is dark brown ; the feet blue- 

 grey with lighter webs and dark grey claws. They have a feeble, piping cry. Although 

 the Skuas usually hatch two young (Plate LI II, fig. 4), one of them always disappears 

 after a day or two, and is probably eaten by the parents. They leave the nest and run 

 about amongst the tussac when they are a few days old. The older nestling is covered 

 with brown down and when the feathers are sprouting the blue skin round the eye 

 and beak shows through the down. The ear coverts are black and the sprouting quills 

 blue (Plate XLVII, fig. 4, and Plate LIV, fig. i). If alarmed it utters a succession of 

 shrill screams. 



The plumage of the adult varies in colour, some being dark brown with a few lighter 

 feathers, while others have a great many light feathers, especially on the back, giving 

 them the appearance of dark ones with bleached plumage. The bill, feet and legs 

 are black, and the iris is brown. 



Larus dominicanus, Licht. 



Dominican Gull 



(Plate XLVI, figs. 1-9) 



This gull is very common at South Georgia all the year round, frequenting the coast 

 and bays and not venturing far to sea. The birds gather in large numbers round the 

 whaling stations to feed on the refuse, and become very tame in winter. They can dive 

 well, rising first a little way into the air and plunging in with half-open wings so that 

 they are completely submerged. When a number are feeding together they quarrel 

 continuously, trying to drive each other away, and making a loud laughing cry, like 

 that of the European Black-Backed Gull. The natural food consists largely of limpets 

 which they pick ofi^ the rocks at low tide. The vicinity of the nest is often strewn with 

 hundreds of the empty shells. They nest in colonies of several dozen pairs close together. 



The nest is built in October, of tussac, moss, dried kelp, bits of whale bone and a 

 few feathers. It is placed on the ground among tussac or in quite bare places, usually 

 on rising ground, or on top of a boulder. The eggs, two or more often three, in number, 

 brown with darker brown and olive spots and splashes, are mostly laid early in 



