Richardson's Skua. 539 



brought to Mr. Grant for preservation. It measured four feet 

 six inches across the wings, and 23 inches in length, and weighed 

 3 Ib. And a fifth specimen was caught in my own parish of 

 Yatesbury, by Mrs. Tanner's shepherd, at the latter end of 

 August, 1882. It appeared to have been wounded, and was 

 unable to rise from the ground. It was preserved at Calne, and is 

 now in the possession of Mr. Munday, late bailiff to Mrs. Tanner. 

 The Marlborough College Natural History Reports mention 

 one seen in that neighbourhood in 1882 ; and Mr. Grant tells me 

 of one killed at Wedhampton in 1861, and of another taken at 

 Swindon in May, 1864. The Rev. A. P. Morres was informed by 

 Mr. White, the taxidermist of Salisbury, that one of these birds 

 was picked up on the downs at Orcheston St. Mary, by Mr. Mills, 

 on October 31st, 1882. The same species is found in the Southern 

 Ocean, where it is known as the ' Cape Hen ' of the sealers, and 

 the ' Port Egmont Hen ' of Captain Cook, and displays the same 

 fierce daring disposition as with us.* By Yorkshire fishermen 

 it is called the ' Morrel Hen/ and by others the ' Sea Eagle,' on 

 account of its boldness in attack and its violence. It is called 

 cataractes from its habit of rushing down on its prey like a 

 cataract, Latinized from the Greek /carappd/cTr)?. In France it 

 is Stercoraire cataracte or Le Gdeland brun ; and in Sweden, 

 Stor Labbe, ' Great Labbe.' 



231. RICHARDSON'S SKUA (Lestris crepidatiui). 



Sometimes called L. Richardsonii, sometimes L. parasiticus, 

 and sometimes L. arcticus; but inasmuch as all the Skua Gulls 

 are visitors to Arctic regions, and parasitic in their habits, such 

 specific names are only confusing. It is called crepidatus, 

 'wearing sandals,' from its parti- coloured feet, but this pecu- 

 liarity of yellow legs and black toes belongs to the immature 

 bird only. With equally little reason it is sometimes called the 

 'Black-toed Gull.' More characteristic and more appropriate, 

 because they refer to the long and slender tail feathers which 

 belong to the adult bird, are the Continental names for this 

 Button in Ibis for 1865, p. 277, and for 1867, p. 185. 



