686 



GULL. 



islands, the larger ones repel all intruders with great 

 resolution, and are formidable even to man himself. 

 In this they differ from all other sea birds, many of 

 which are very clamorous when their nesting places 

 are invaded, as for instance gannets, cormorants, and 

 all the species of rock-building gulls. With these, 

 however, it is only clamour; but the larger skuas can 

 make formidable attacks, and their numbers overcome 

 the sea eagles themselves. But while they are thus 

 bold in the defence of their homes and broods, they 

 are not rapacious against other birds. They partake 

 perhaps fully more of the vulture than of the eagle, and 

 the larger refuse of the sea, the dead bodies of seals 

 and whales, and all other unclean things which float 

 upon the ocean, are food for the skuas. 



The generic characters are : the bill of mean length, 

 stout, hard, cylindrical, with sharp cutting edges, com- 

 pressed, curved, and hooked at the tip ; the base of 

 the upper mandible covered with a cere, as in the 

 birds of prey ; but the lower mandible with a salient 

 angle at the middle of its length, as in the gulls ; the 

 nostrils situated near the point of the bill, diagonal, 

 straight, and partially closed with membrane ; the 

 tarsi small, and the legs naked to some distance above 

 the knee ; the toes three to the front and one to the 

 rear, the former completely webbed, the latter almost 

 entirely free, and all the four furnished with large 

 and long crooked claws, the hind toe much smaller 

 than the other three ; the tail slightly rounded, and 

 with the two middle feathers rather longer than the 

 rest ; the wings of mean length, and the first quill 

 the longest in the wing ; the body very compact and 

 robust, much more so than that of any other sea bird, 

 and the colours, in some of the species at least, par- 

 taking of the reddish and blackish browns which are 

 so prevalent in land birds of prey. 



The most remarkable character of the skuas is the 

 habit from which they have obtained the name of 

 Lestris, and which has been very properly substituted 

 for the old name of Stercorarius. The last of these 

 was given from the foolish belief that these birds fed 

 upon the " mutings" of other sea birds, especially the 

 gulls, whereas it is the food from the stomach, and 

 not the refuse after the purposes of the other bird 

 have been served, which is the object of the Lestri. 

 They must be considered as birds of prey as well as 

 the land Accipitres ; but there is this difference be- 

 tween them, that while land accipitres are invariably 

 murderers, the skuas are simply robbers ; and, less 

 daring, as one would say, than the others as well as 

 less bloody, they do not hesitate to join the more 

 cowardly craft of stealing with the more darin? one 

 of open robbery. The flight of these birds is by no 

 means so gliding and apparently easy as that of the 

 gulls, although even then it has an appearance of more 

 power about it. The gull glides away, with soft 

 wing, as if it were a mere passenger upon its organs 

 of flight. The skua bounds and bounces with a jerk- 

 ing and uneven flight, as if it had other work to do in 

 the air besides locomotion ; and it has other work 

 there, for the air is the scene of its robberies. It is 

 no unamusing sight to observe the gulls and skuas, 

 especially in the currents among the northern islands, 

 where herrings and the fry of fishes are caught in the 

 turbulent water, and brought near the surface in great 

 numbers. The gulls whiten the air with their num- 

 bers, make the whole concave of heaven ring with 

 their wailing cries, and plunging down catch fish after 

 fish with great rapidity and apparent ease. The 



darker coloured skuas are in the meantime hovering 

 about, keeping a steady eye upon such of the gulls 

 as have been successful in their fishing ; but keeping 

 the upper part of the sky, and not themselves conde- 

 scending to come down for the purpose of capturing 

 a single fish. They leave this part of the business to 

 the gulls ; and when a gull has got its load, for it can 

 swallow a considerable quantity, and rises to the 

 upper part with heavier flight than usual, in order to 

 bear off the produce of its industry to its mate or its 

 brood, the war cry of the skua is soon heard and im- 

 mediately it dashes at the gull, repeating again its 

 summons to " stand and deliver." If the summons is 

 not answered the skua strikes at the gull, and most 

 likely tumbles it headlong by the force of the stroke, 

 though without doing it any mortal or material injury. 

 But this seldom happens, for the terror of the gull 

 makes it discharge the contents of its stomach the 

 moment that the skua comes driving at it ; and the 

 instant that this is done the skua leaves the gull, and 

 plunging down with great rapidity catches the prize 

 before it reaches the water. This habit of taking the 

 prey from the preyer is not wholly confined to the 

 skuas ; at least the American ornithologists describe 

 the whiteheaded eagle of that country as hovering 

 about and treating the osprey in this manner, not 

 making the osprey disgorge the morsel which it has 

 swallowed, but compelling it to drop the fish which it 

 is bearing off in its talons. It seems that this habit, 

 whether it belongs to eagle or to skua, requires as 

 much courage on the part of the bird practising it as 

 the habit of attacking birds in order to kill them. 

 Indeed it requires more, for most of the birds of prey 

 have some particular art or stratagem by means of 

 which they come upon their prey, and despatch it with- 

 out giving it time to defend itself; and it is well known 

 that when another bird can stand upon the defensive 

 a bird of prey will sneak off in a cowardly manner. 

 Thus, however fond the common kite is of chickens, 

 it dares not approach a brood hen ; and even the 

 golden eagle itself, if it ventures to stoop at a raven, 

 turns craven and is off' if it once perceives that the 

 eye of the raven is upon it. Hence it should seem 

 that it requires greater courage in a bird to become a 

 robber than a murderer, and accordingly the more 

 powerful skuas are among the most daring and cou- 

 rageous of the feathered race, and may be said to be 

 in their own localities the monarchs of the sky. 



There are several species of this genus, some of 

 which generally, and others occasionally, visit the 

 northern isles, and some of the remote coasts of Scot- 

 land ; and stragglers also occasionally find their way to 

 the English shores, especially at those times when pil- 

 chards, sprats, and other small fishes, are shoaling 

 near the land. Their chief places, however, are those 

 at which the gulls congregate in the greatest numbers ; 

 though even at these places, the skuas have their pe- 

 culiar nesting grounds, and mix with the gulls only 

 when the latter are engaged in fishing. 



COMMON SKUA (L. catarractes). This is the largest 

 species of the genus, and the one which is most 

 abundant and best known upon the British shores. 

 It is a large and powerful bird, not much inferior to 

 the eagles in size and strength. The length is about 

 two feet or upwards, the neck is short and strong, and 

 the whole body has a firm appearance. The extent 

 of the wings is between four and five feet, and the 

 weight of the bird is about three pounds. The basal 

 part of the bill has the form of that of the gulls, only 



