196 THE SKUAS 



localities in the Shetlands, one on the Sneug, on the island of Foula, and the other 

 on Hernia Ness, 1 in the island of Unst, from which at various times attempts have 

 been made to colonise the opposite headland of Saxavord and other localities in the 

 island. Rona's Hill on the mainland was also occupied at one time, and the nest 

 has occasionally been found on Yell and Hascosay. Outside the British Isles it 

 breeds in the Faeroes, and in much larger numbers also in Iceland. The only other 

 locality where they are supposed to breed is Lady Franklin Island, Hudson Strait, 

 where Kumlien reports having seen the birds in September, and adds that they had 

 then young on the rocks. The date, however, is late and the site unlikely, so that 

 probably there is some mistake. In winter it has occurred as a straggler as far south 

 as the Straits of Gibraltar, the Balearic Isles, and occasionally in Italy and the Swiss 

 lakes. On the American side it ranges to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfound- 

 land, and the New England coast, [r. c. R. J.] 



3. Migration. Resident within our area as a whole : breeding only in the 

 Shetland Isles, it is an uncommon winter visitor to all other parts of our coasts, 

 occurring chiefly on the eastern seaboard of Great Britain. Whether these winter 

 visitors all come from Shetland, or partly from further north, is not known. [A. L. T.] 



4. Nest and Eggs. The great-skua breeds in colonies, but the nests are 

 not placed close together, and in most cases are found at a considerable height above 

 the sea. The nests, according to Oswin Lee, are rather untidy structures. First 

 " a hollow nearly a foot in diameter is trodden in the moss on the slope near the top 

 of some hill ; this is lined with bits of moss, a few feathers and a good deal of dead 

 grass." (PI. XLVII.) According to Naumann, the female makes the nest. Two eggs 

 are deposited. The usual ground-colour varies from light to deep olive-brown, 

 but a less common type is olive-green in colour, sometimes very pale. The markings 

 consist of very dark brown spots and blotches and ashy brown shellmarks, which 

 are rather sparsely distributed, chiefly round the big end, sometimes forming an 

 irregular zone. A blue type without markings has also occurred (Dr. 0. Ottosson). 

 (PI. J.) Average size of 27 eggs, 2-73x1-93 in. [69-5x49-1 mm.]. Incubation, 



according to .Hantzsch, is carried on by both parents in turn, and the young are 

 ' * *.* 

 : hatched" afterf.a period of 28-30 days, while Faber estimates the fledging period as 



;#T3.ftut;.ti0; days,] '"The first eggs are laid in the Shetlands from about 12th to 24th 

 May according to the season, and only a single brood is reared annually, though, 

 where much harried, two or three clutches may be laid. [F. c. R. J.] 



1 The Duchess of Bedford records forty-two nests at this station in 1907 (Annals Scot. Nat. 

 Hist., 1908, p. 4). 



