THE GREAT AND ARCTIC-SKUAS 203 



THE GREAT AND ARCTIC-SKUAS 



[F. B. KIRKMAN] 



The subfamily of the Skuas, the pirates of the bird world, is 

 divided into two genera, Megalestris and Stercorarius, with, as far as at 

 present known, four species in the first and three in the second. 



The only representative of Megalestris in the British Isles, and 

 indeed in the whole of the northern hemisphere, is the great-skua 

 or bonxie, a bird of the size of the lesser blackbacked-gull. Its 

 breeding range is exceedingly restricted, being confined to the 

 Shetlands, Faeroes, and Iceland. It may be found to breed elsewhere, 

 and there is some evidence, but no certainty, that it does so in Hudson 

 Strait, Canada. The comparative rarity of the species has of course 

 made its eggs and skin all the more desirable to collectors, and it has 

 only escaped being completely exterminated by them in Shetland 

 owing to the efforts of a few individuals, notably the Edmonstons 

 and the Scotts of Melby. The former sought to protect the colony at 

 Unst, with varying success, from as far back as 1831, at which date 

 there were only two or three pairs left. The numbers rose to 50 or 

 GO pairs, but fell in 1861 to 10 or 12. In 1895 there were only 7, but 

 in 1907 the number rose to 42 pairs. 1 Owing largely to the efforts 

 of the Scotts, the colony at Foula has also made good progress. 



The remaining three species of Megalestris are found on all the 

 oceans of the southern hemisphere, and include the Port Egmont 

 or sea hen, familiar to readers of Captain Cook's voyages. 



The three species of Stercorarius breed in the northern parts of 

 the northern hemisphere. Two of them, the Pomatorhine and 

 Buffon's skuas, visit us only outside the breeding season. The third, 



1 Annals Scot. Nat. Hist., 1908, p. 4 (Duchess of Bedford). 

 VOL. III. 2 D 



