THE ZooLoGist—FEBRUARY, 1872. 2933 
The British Skuas (Lestris). 
By E. H. Rovp, Esq., and the late W. YARRELI, Esq. 
THERE appears to be some little obscurity as to the number of 
British species constituting this family: the subject has occupied 
my attention more or less from 1840 to the present time, and I am 
not clear now as to whether there may not be a species between 
the smallest, No. 4, which I take to be Lestris Buffoni, and No. 3, 
which is L. Richardsonii; the great or common skua and the 
pomarine skua forming Nos. 1 and 2. 
I have in my cabinet Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4. No. 4, which I 
obtained, in 1833, from a parish adjoining the Land’s End, 
appeared to me to be the true arctic or Buffon’s skua, from the 
two slender and very lengthened middle tail-feathers extending 
about seven inches beyond the lateral tail-feathers, but which, 
although much narrower than the shorter corresponding feathers 
of L. Richardsonii, are decidedly graduated from the base to 
their tips, and not of equal width. .This specimen is only half 
the size of an adult Richardsonii which I have, the projecting 
tail-feathers of which are only from two to three inches long. 
I submitted this smaller bird of mine, by a drawing, to our 
friend the late Mr. Yarrell, and I am pretty sure that his letter to 
me in answer will be read with interest, as it seems to raise a new 
question as to a fifth British species. You will observe that he 
asserts that the graduated character of the middle feathers of the 
tail forbids its ranking with the L. Buffoni, which he says are 
of uniform width thoughout from their projection to the tips. If 
he is right (which nevertheless I very much doubt myself), there 
must be a fifth British species, for my specimen is certainly only 
one half the size of the Richardsonii and about the bulk of a 
common shearwater, and the middle tail-feathers are graduated in 
width to the end; but Mr. Yarrell pronounced it to be L. Richard- 
sonii, as will appear in his interesting and pleasantly written letter, 
which is subjoined. He appears to write in a very confident tone 
as to the characters referred to in the middle tail-feathers being 
specific marks of distinction. 
Epwarp HEARLE Ropp. 
Penzance, January 9, 1872. 
SECOND SERIES—VOL, VII, I 
