560 Proceedings of the Royal Physkcd Society. 



A few lesser black-backs and one or two herring gulls also 

 breed on the " Holm." The young on the 17th of June 

 would be pretty well grown, as this gull breeds early, the 

 first eggs being frequently laid by the 2d of May. I found 

 fresh eggs at Fiedeland on the 31st May, but these were of 

 a second laying. A nest I reached on the 2d June at Uyea 

 contained two newly-hatched young and an egg just chipping. 

 Both old birds in this case were very bold, the female 

 especially. As I climbed down the cliff, I frequently felt 

 the wind from her wings as she swooped past my head with 

 her deep barking note, hue — hue — hue. 



64. Great Skua (Stercorarius catavractes), (Bonxie). — This 

 is the bird of Shetland ; its breeding stations in the British 

 Isles being confined to only three localities — all in Shetland. 

 The number of pairs that still nest in these localities is 

 small, and, I fear, still decreasing, though the skuas of Unst 

 seem to have held their ground wonderfully well for the 

 last twenty-five years. Foula has been for many years the 

 chief stronghold of these birds, and Mr Scott of Melby, the 

 proprietor, informed me that there are still sixteen pairs 

 there. Although strict orders have been given that the 

 birds are not to be interfered with, a good many of their eggs 

 are annually taken and sold to English dealers. I have 

 reliable information also that last summer fov/r freshly- 

 killed adult great skuas were received by an Edinburgh bird- 

 stuffer from Walls, which is the port for Foula on the 

 mainland. This means that next year there will be only 

 fourteen pairs, the number of young got off being barely 

 sufficient to repair casualties during the winter. In Unst 

 the skuas are far fewer in number. In 1861, the date on 

 which Saxby wrote, there were five or six pairs, and this 

 number has been maintained with slight fluctuation ever 

 since. Mr Mackay, the shepherd who has charge of Her- 

 maness Hill, informs me that the numbers for the last four 

 years have been — 1884, four pairs; 1885 and 1886, five pairs ; 

 and last year (1887), six pairs; but of these only one pair 

 brought out young, the others being all robbed when three 

 weeks' sat, the birds of course not laying a second time. In 

 1886 they were more fortunate, four pairs getting off young; 

 two at the first laying, and two at the second. In 1885 Mr 



