202 THE SKUAS 



Josef group. In Scandinavia a few pairs breed on the Dovref jeld and in Finmark, 

 while on the high fjeld of Jemtland and Swedish Lapland it has been found nesting 

 in considerable numbers, especially in lemming years. In North Russia it breeds on 

 all the tundra as far south as Archangel, and has been proved to nest in Novaya 

 Zemlya ; and in Siberia it also inhabits the tundra region east to the Pacific, and is 

 plentiful on the Lower Yenesei. In the New World it breeds in Greenland, and is 

 locally common on the west side, and also nests near Cape Bismarck (Manniche). 

 It has also been recorded during the summer months from Kotzebue Sound and 

 Thank-God Haven (Bessels), while Feilden found nests in Grinnell Land, and Hart 

 recorded it as breeding commonly near Discovery Bay on the Arctic expedition of 

 1875-76. Its migration range extends south to the Straits of Gibraltar and the 

 Mediterranean, while along the east side of N. America it has occurred as far south 

 as Florida and to lat. 20 on the Pacific side. [p. c. R. j.] 



3. Migration. An irregular cold-weather visitor to the British coasts. 

 The majority of the records are for the east coast of England and for the autumn 

 months. A very exceptional visitation of these birds occurred in the autumn of 

 1891. [A. L. T.] 



4. Nest and Eggs. Does not breed in the British Isles, [r. c. R. J.] 



5. Food. Except during the breeding season this skua is no doubt mainly 

 parasitic on the Terns and the kittiwake, devouring the fish which it forces them to 

 disgorge. Breeding inland at some distance from the sea, its diet varies according 

 to locality, but lemmings, My odes torquatus (Pallas), are very largely eaten, and a 

 mouse has been found in the stomach of a breeding bird. Among the insects taken 

 at this time may be mentioned Lepidoptera of various kinds, Coleoptera, especially 

 the larger beetles, Orthoptera (earwigs and grasshoppers), and Diptera (Tipula). 

 Crustacea of various kinds are also eaten, and Collett also mentions earthworms and 

 Mollusca (Litorina litored) as forming part of its diet. In some districts the young 



. r ' * **".' 



. V are : - fed largely or entirely on the berries of Empetrum nigrum, and probably in the 

 :'.'! earliest, stages of life insect food is generally given, but they are soon able to eat 

 lemmings. After the breeding season, besides fish and wounded birds, such as 

 dunlins and stints (Seebohm), it has also been seen feeding on a dead horse 

 (Zoologist, 1877, p. 331), and the corpse of an Arctic fox (Von Heuglin). Both 

 parents feed the young, disgorging the food in front of them (Manniche). 

 [F. c. R. j.] 



