STERCORAEIUS 841 



Commander Islands, south in winter to Japan, Moulmein (once), 

 and Cape York in Australia; Northern North America, in 

 winter south to New Jersey, the Great Lakes, and Callao Bay. 



In habits this Skua does not appreciably differ from its allies, 

 and feeds on fish, lemmings, and carrion, and also to a large 

 extent plunders the smaller Gulls and Terns of their prey. Its 

 cry is a short harsh crah. It was first found breeding on the 

 Taimyr by von Middendorf in 1843, later in Greenland, and in 

 1897 on the Yenesei by Mr. Popham. The nest is a hollow 

 in a drier spot in marshy ground, and the 2 eggs vary in 

 ground-colour from stone-grey with a greenish tinge to brownish 

 olivaceous, and are spotted and blotched, chiefly at the larger 

 end, with pale greyish brown and blackish brown, measuring 

 about 2-62 by T86. 



1156. ARCTIC SKUA. 

 STERCORARIUS CREPIDATUS. 



Stercorarius crepidatus (Banks), in Cook's Voy. Hawks worth's ed. ii. 

 p. 15 (1773) ; Dresser, viii. p. 471, pis. 611, 612, fig. 2 ; Saunders, 

 Cat. B. Br. Mus. xxv. p. 327 ; id. Manual, p. 691 ; Blanf. F. Brit. 

 Ind. Birds, iv. p. 329 ; S. para.nticus (Bodd, nee. Linn.), Tabl. 

 PI. Enl. p. 58, No. 991 (1783) ; (Gould), B. of Gt. Brit. v. pi. 80 ; 

 (Xamn.), x. p. 506, Taf. 272, 273 ; Tacz. F. 0. Sib. 0. p. 1056 ; 

 Kidgway, p. 22 ; S. richardsoni (Swains.), Faun. Bor. Am. Birds, 

 p. 433, pi. 73 (1831) ; (Hewitson), ii. p. 609, pi. cxliii. fig. 2 ; 

 (Gould), B. of E. v. pi. 441 ; Seebohm, B. Jap. Emp. p. 288 ; 

 (Lilford), vi. p. 75, pi. 34. 



Labbe parasite, French ; Cagado, Portug. ; Cdgalo, Span. ; 

 Labbo, Ital. ; Struntjager, Schmarotzer-fiaubmowe, German ; 

 KLcine Jager, Dutch ; Spidshalet-Kjove, Dan. ; Leverjo, Norweg. ; 

 Vanliga Labb, Swed. ; Kalapasko-raiska, Finn. ; Pomornik- 

 tschujeadnui, Russ. 



$ ad. (Greenland). Crown and sides of head to below the eye, back, 

 wings, and tail dark brown, the head rather paler, the back almost blackish 

 brown ; shafts of outer quills white ; chin, neck all round, and under 

 parts white ; sides and back of neck washed with yellow ; breast and 

 lower throat washed with ashy brown ; crissum and under tail-coverts 

 dark brown; middle tail-feathers elongated, tapered; bill lead-bine at 

 base, otherwise blackish; legs blackish; iris brown. Culmen T5, 

 wing 13 '3, tail 8*9, the middle feathers 3*1 longer than the lateral ones, 

 tarsus 1-8 inch. Varieties of this species are not uncommon, which are 

 almost uniform sooty blackish. 



Hob. The northern portions of the Old and New Worlds ; 

 Greenland, Iceland, the Faeroes, N. Norway and Sweden, 



