BIRDS. 239 



that it formerly bred in the south end of Sanday, on the farm 

 of Store, but that, with the present exception, he has not seen 

 one, even on the wing, for years." 



When in Orkney in 1888 we made special inquiries about 

 this bird, and from what we could gather from others, and 

 from our own observations, Richardson's Skua now only 

 breeds in the island of Hoy, and even there is limited to the 

 parish of N. Walls. Here they are abundant, several pairs 

 being generally found in pretty close proximity, and very often 

 establishing themselves amongst a colony of gulls, with whom 

 they live peaceably enough at their breeding stations. Odd 

 pairs may be found living by themselves, but, from our own 

 observations, in Hoy they seem to prefer company. The vexed 

 subject of the different plumages of this skua has been gone 

 into often enough, and we need here only remark that our own 

 observations fully bear out what has already been said, viz., 

 that a black or white bird may be indifferently male or female. 



While the eggs are fresh, the birds are by no means anxious 

 about them, unless one is accompanied by a dog, when they are 

 bold enough, but on only one occasion were we swooped down 

 upon when taking the eggs by ourselves. 



All our nests were taken by either watching the old bird 

 go on to her eggs, or seeing her head amongst the grass and 

 heather whilst sitting on the nest ; and on few occasions, except 

 by stalking, did we get nearer than two hundred and fifty yards 

 or thereabouts, before she left her nest. On one occasion, after 

 robbing a nest, we lay down within sixty yards of it to watch 

 for another, and while lying there the old bird came and sat on 

 the empty nest. When disturbed off their nests the old birds 

 have a habit of sitting on the ground, and flapping their wings 

 like a Starling when whistling. So common are these skuas in 

 this locality that Mr. Heddle informed us he killed sixty in one 

 season, and that next year he could see no decrease in their 

 numbers. These birds were killed for the sake of the grouse, 

 as skuas harry and drive them off, they being great destroyers 

 of eggs and young. Indeed, only this last August (1888), Mr. 

 Moodie-Heddle wrote us that, having flushed a covey of grouse, 

 a skua made a pounce on one which it luckily missed by the 



