9240 Birds. 
Richardson’s Skua.—Richardson’s skuas began to lay early this 
month. In this island a large colony occupies the greater part of the 
top of Hermaness, and a few scattered pairs breed regularly upon 
several of the high moors. In the islands of Fetlar and Bressay they 
are very numerous. In their habits they closely resemble the larger 
species, but are less bold in their approach to man. The eggs are 
among the most beautiful which are to be found in these islands, and 
may easily be obtained in all their varieties, from very dark and 
almost uniforin olive-brown, to clear, bright, spotless green: specimens 
beautifully zoned are of frequent occurrence. The bird’s habit of 
fluttering and tumbling in front of an intruder upon the privacy of 
their haunts is well known, but it does not appear to be entirely con- 
fined to the breeding-season. At all times this species is fond of 
sitting half buried among the heather and grass, and this is more par- 
ticularly the case in rainy or foggy weather. 
Snowy Ovl and Eagle Owl.—On the 20th of June I was informed 
that a snowy owl had been seen about the hills for nearly a week pre- 
viously, and next day a man shot it, after a chase of five hours, when, 
finding that it was very slightly wounded, he brought it alive to me. 
In the hope of being able to learn some interesting particulars 
regarding its habits, I at once determined to keep it alive, and I am 
happy to say that at the present date it has every appearance of being 
in perfect health. The man told me that he saw another of a grayish 
colour and rather smaller flying near it, and there can be very little 
doubt that this was a young one of the same species, for the bird now 
in my possession bears the marks of considerable age, and the feathers 
of the breast, wings and tail are much worn, as though it had lately 
been engaged in incubation. All my endeavours to procure the second 
one have hitherto proved fruitless, although it has been seen several 
times by some of the people. It is strange that although snowy owls 
bear a very heavy shot, a very slight wound is sufficient to bring them 
to the ground. My prisoner only received a mere scratch upon the 
back, and as soon as it came into my hands it was able to fly all about 
the room, yet scarcely an hour before that, it had been brought down 
by the shot and carried off. The only way of accounting for this is by 
supposing that the contact of the shot conveying the impression that 
the enemy was at close quarters, the bird at once threw itself into the 
attitude of defence, and thus allowed itself to be taken in hand: there 
can be no doubt that if the man had not at once run up the bird would 
soon have recovered from its surprise and made its escape. Like most 
other birds of prey, the snowy owl when wounded throws itself upon 
