216 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



THE SKUA GULL. 



(Lestris Cataractes, Temm. Stcrcorairc cataracte, 

 Temm.) 



THIS stout bird is two feet in length, and between 

 four and five from tip to tip of the extended wings r 

 and weighs about three pounds. The bill is dark, 

 more than two inches long, strong, much hooked, 

 and sharp at the tip, and covered to the nostrils 

 with a kind of cere, something like that of the 

 Hawk tribe. The whole upper plumage is of a 

 deep brown, edged with a dull rust colour : the 

 under parts are of the same colours, but lighter; 

 and in some birds, the head and throat are dashed 

 or mixed with ash-grey, and have the secondary 

 quills tipped with white; the tail is white at the 

 root, the shafts are of the same colour, and the 

 webs of deep brown : the legs and toes are covered 

 with coarse black scales; the claws are strong and 

 hooked, the inner one more so than the rest. 



