h 



GEEAT SKUA. 



LESTRIS CATARRHACTES {Linn.). 



Larus eatarractes, Linn. S. N. i. p. 226 (1766). 

 Lestris cataractes, Naum. x. p. 470. 



Lestris catarractes, Macg. v. p. 479; Hewitson, ii. p. 505. 

 Stercorarius catarrhactes, Yarr. ed. 4, iii. p. 662 ; Dresser, 

 viii. p. 457. 



Skua, Bonxie, French ; Grosse Raub-Muve, German ; 

 Cdyalo (applied to all the Skuas) , Spanish. 



I cannot remember having identified a Great Skua on 

 wing except on one occasion, shortly after rounding 

 Cape Finisterre on our passage in my yacht from 

 Santander to Vigo in December 1878, when a solitary 

 individual of this species sailed past our vessel within 

 gunshot range. I am therefore unable to dilate upon 

 the habits of the bird in a wild state. The only breed- 

 ing-places of these fine birds in the British Islands are 

 in the Shetlands, on the islands of Unst and Foula, 

 where, owing to the most praiseworthy protection 

 afforded to them by the landowners, they still hold their 

 ground in some numbers in spite of the constant raids 

 of collectors, who offer such high prices for the eggs that 



