336 RICHARDSON'S SKUA. 



rod. The seething mass of birds made an indelible 

 impression on my memory ; it photographed itself on 

 my mind's eye, as such scenes often do. I tried to 

 make a sketch of it at the time, but I found it im- 

 possible to convey the idea of motion. It reminded 

 me of Gustav Dore's picture to illustrate the passage 

 in Dante's Inferno of ' the punishment of sinners, 

 who are tossed about ceaselessly in the air by the 

 most furious winds '. No less an artist than Dore 

 could do justice to such a scene." 



RICHARDSON'S SKUA. 



STERCORARIUS RICHARDSONI. 



Family LARID^;. Genus STERCORARIUS. 



Black-toed Gull. 



Richardson's Skua, which receives its name from 

 Richardson, who accompanied Sir John Franklin's 

 expedition, and brought home specimens from the 

 Arctic regions, is the most common of all the Skuas 

 with us ; still, it only breeds within a very limited area, 

 its nest being found in the Orkneys and Shetlands and 

 Outer Hebrides. It is a summer visitor to us. 



There are two distinct forms in the plumage of this 

 bird, a dark and a light form. The first form in breed- 

 ing plumage is of a uniform dark brown all over, tinged 

 with grey on the upper parts. In the lighter form the 

 upper parts are still dark greyish brown, but the 

 general colour of the under parts is white, tinged in 

 parts with brown. A large amount of the food of 

 Richardson's Skua is obtained by chasing and merci- 

 lessly persecuting other birds, such as the Kittiwakes 

 and smaller Gulls, until they drop the food which they 

 have perhaps with difficulty obtained. It even devours 



