THE SKUAS 



[ORDER : Charadriiformes. FAMILY : Laridce. SUBFAMILY : Stercorariince] 

 PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 



[F. C. R. JOTJRDAIN. F. B. KIRKMAN. W. P. PYCRAFT. A. L. THOMSON] 



GREAT-SKUA \Megalistris skua (Briinnich) ; Megalestris catarrhdctes 

 (Linnaeus). Old hen, Tom Harry (Devon), bonxie, skooi (Shetlands). French, 

 labbe cataracte ; German, grosse Raub-Mowe ; Italian, stercorario maggiore]. 



1. Description. The great-skua is easily recognised by its large size, almost 

 uniform umber-brown coloration, the large white patch on the primaries, and the 

 absence of conspicuous "tail streamers." The sexes are alike, and there is no 

 seasonal change of coloration. (PI. 109.) Length 21 in. [533'40 mm.]. The head 

 and nape are umber-brown, the feathers of the neck rather paler, acuminate, and 

 have pale straw-coloured shafts. The wings are rather darker brown than the rest 

 of the upper parts, and the outer primaries show a large patch of white extending 

 outwards from the tips of the primary major coverts ; the shafts of the quills are 

 white. The tail-coverts are brown with dull rufous streaks, and the rectrices are 

 umber-brown ; the central feathers not markedly longer than the rest. The 

 under surface is of a pale chestnut-rufous, white shaft-streaks giving the flanks a 

 slightly striated appearance. The cere is of a greyish blue, the beak, legs, and toes 

 black, and the iris is dark brown. The juvenile plumage differs from that of the 

 adult only in that the neck feathers are less pointed and less conspicuously striated. 

 The downy young are of a light bistre-brown inclining to reddish, especially in the- 

 back. The only trace of mottling of any kind is to be found an] til; ctfj&ri^aiHV 

 here it is barely discernable. Beak dark lead colour. Legs pale lead-blue, with a 

 patch of dark leaden-grey on each side of the base of the toes, which, with the 

 webs, are of a dark leaden-grey, [w. p. p.] 



2. Distribution. In the British Isles this fine species is confined to two 

 VOL. III. 2C 



746314 



