SKUA 



COMMON SKUA SKUA GULL BONXIE. 

 PLATE CCXXVIII. FIGURE II. 



Stercorarius cataractes, ..... DRESSER. 



Cataractes vulgarls, ..... FLEMING. 



Catharacta skua, ...... BRUNNICH. 



Larus cataractes, . ..... 



THE nest of the Skua is of large size, as well as some- 

 what carefully constructed ; the materials used being 

 grass, lichens, moss, and heath. The bird places it on 

 the tops of the mountains or cliffs in the neighbourhood 

 of the sea, but not on the rocks themselves. They build 

 separately in pairs. 



The eggs are only two in number. They are olive 

 brown, with darker markings. They are laid towards the end 

 of June. 



The only breeding-places of the Skua remaining in 

 Great Britain are in the Shetland Islands. 



There are two small colonies on Unst and Foula, where 

 the most praiseworthy efforts have been made by the 

 proprietors to protect them ; but to quote the words of Mr. 

 Hudson in his "British Birds," 1895: " It is scarcely to be 

 hoped that this insignificant remnant will continue to exist 



