256 LARINJE. CATARACTES. 



the contents of their gullet. The nest is made among the 

 grass, and the eggs, generally two, sometimes three, are olive- 

 brown, spotted with dusky. In Foula, it was formerly pro- 

 tected, on account of the benefit it conferred by driving off 

 eagles and ravens ; but of late years, the rapacity of bird- 

 collectors has greatly thinned its numbers in Shetland, It is 

 easily tamed, becomes familiar, and even shews some affec- 

 tion toward its feeder. 



Skua. Bonxie. 



Larus Catarractes, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 226. Larus Catar- 

 ractes,Lath. Ind. Ornith. ii.818. Lestris Catarractes, Temm. 

 Man. d'Ornith. ii. 729, iii. 494. Cataractes Skua, Brown 

 Pirate-bird, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, v. 



312. CATARACTES POMAEJNUS. POMARINE PIRATE-BIRD. 



Bill an inch and three-fourths in length, tarsus two inches, 

 very rough behind; middle tail-feathers broad, rounded, twist- 

 ed to a side at the end, an inch longer than the next ; bill dull- 

 green, dusky toward the end ; tibia, toes, webs, and lower 

 half of tarsus black, the upper half light-blue. Upper part 

 and sides of head brownish-black ; upper neck all round yel- 

 lowish-white, lower white barred with brownish-black; breast 

 white ; sides, abdomen, and lower and upper tail-coverts, 

 white barred with black ; back and wings brownish-black ; 

 quills and tail-feathers white at the base ; lower wing-coverts 

 barred with white and dusky. Young with the bill greenish- 

 blue, at the end black ; feet greyish-blue ; toes and webs 

 whitish at the base, dusky at the end ; head and neck dull 

 brown, the feathers margined with paler ; upper parts dark 

 brown, with reddish semilunar bands ; lower parts greyish- 

 brown, spotted and undulated with light red ; middle of abdo- 

 men, upper andlowertail-coverts,barred with dusky andreddish. 



Male, 20, 48, 14, 1ft, 2 T V, 1H> A- 



This species, which breeds in the Arctic regions, and ap- 

 pears to be more plentiful in America than in Europe, is sel- 

 dom or never seen on our coasts in the adult state, although 

 young individuals are not extremely rare in winter, and may 

 generally be observed wherever gulls are collected in pursuit 

 of herrings or shoals of other fishes. I have seen it thus in 

 the Frith of Forth, and it has been met with as far as the 

 southern coasts of England. 



Great variations are observed in the colours of the plumage, 

 which have not yet been referred to any determinate rule. 



Lestris pomarinus, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. ii. 793, iv. 495. 

 Cataractes pomarinus, Pomarine Pirate, MacGillivray, Brit. 

 Birds, v. 





