674 



GA 



LARID^. 



LARID^E. 



STERCORARIUS CREPIDATUS (Gmelin*). 



THE ARCTIC OR RICHARDSON'S SKUA.f 



Lestris Richardsonii. 



OF the species of this genus which visit this country, the 

 Arctic Skua is the most numerous. Pennant, in his time, 



* Lam* crepidatus, Graelin, Syst. Nat. i. 'p. 602 (1788), ex Banks, Hawks- 

 worth's Voy. ii. p. 15 (1773). 



f The trivial name ' Richardson's Skua ' is certainly distinctive, but as it was 

 originally applied solely to the dark form, it appears preferable to call this species 

 the 'Arctic Skua,' the name previously employed by Pennant, Montagu, Bewick, 

 Fleming, Selby and others. The only drawback is that it has occasionally been 

 conferred on the next species. 



