The Skua.] OF ORKNEY. 121 



then, but one and all assured me they had never seen or heard 

 of a single instance of his doing so. 



The description of this bird in the British Zoology is pretty 

 good. The neck is much thicker and stronger than in other 

 gulls ; the wings reach near the point of the tail ; the tail, 

 when flying, is spread like a fan, has no long feathers like 

 the arctic gull ; the cry is hoarse and strong ; lays two eggs 

 in the heath of the highest hills, much of the same colour as 

 those of the arctic gull, of an olive colour, blotched with dar- 

 ker spots of the same ; it weighs three pounds four drachms ; 

 length, from the point of the bill to the point of the tail, two 

 feet ; breadth four feet and a half; the bill two inches and a 

 quarter, black, strong, and crooked, the base covered with a 

 sort of horny substance ; the legs black, webs the same ; the 

 talons strong and crooked, especially the innermost, but no- 

 thing near equal to those of the smaller birds of prey ; the ge- 

 neral colour of the upper side of this bird is a rusty-brown 

 the head, breast, and belly lighter ; the quills black towards 

 the upper part, but white towards the wing, which appearing 

 when the bird is on wing forms a white spot : the tail consists 

 of twelve dusky feathers with white roots. 



