96 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
but it probably goes farther south in pursuit of the Terns, which 
its dashing rapid flight enables it to rob with ease. In this, as 
in many other cases, ‘‘ What is hit is history: what is missed is 
mystery.” 
There remains but one other British species, the Great Skua, 
Stercorarius catarrhactes, a few examples of which have also been 
obtained this autumn. It is nowhere numerically abundant, and 
in the Faroe Islands, once its stronghold, it is rapidly decreasing, 
being classed amongst the injurious birds for whose destruction a 
reward or “neb-toll” is paid. In Shetland, where I visited one 
of its breeding-places, it is most carefully preserved, otherwise it 
would long since have become extinct there, for the bird knows 
no fear, and attacks the intruder as soon as its territory is 
invaded. First comes a swoop close to the head, another, and 
another; till the young are actually discovered, and then one or 
both of the old birds charge boldly, even when you face them. 
It is no sly attack from behind, as with the “ Allan” (Richardson’s 
Skua), but as you front the bird it comes down as straight as an 
arrow, sweeping the heather as if it were going to strike the very 
centre of your body. At about twenty yards’ distance down go 
the talon-armed feet, their webs spread to the full extension, and 
the eyes seem to stand out from the sides of the head, as the 
enraged bird swirls past, just clearing the top of your head, and 
making the whole atmosphere vibrate with the rush of its pinions. 
Round it swoops, and meanwhile perhaps the other one comes 
down in a like manner; and so the game is kept up till you are 
tired, for the birds do not seem to weary so long as their domain 
is molested. As it is no joke to be hit on the head by such a 
large bird, and as it might at the same time hurt itself (an 
accident to be regretted, as Great Skuas are far rarer than 
ornithologists), it is advisable to hold a stick a little above the 
head, as the birds will always clear it. In this, as in all the 
other species, two is the usual number of eggs in each nest; but 
last year, owing perhaps to the weather, I fancy that many pairs 
only reared a single young one. Beyond the Shetlands and the 
Faroes, the Skua breeds in a few places in Iceland, and is also 
found apparently, in small numbers, throughout British North 
America and across to California, where, however, only one 
specimen is on record as having been obtained. This sudden 
break-off in its distribution is somewhat remarkable, inasmuch 
