GO E. LÖNNBERG, CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FAUNA OF SOUTH GEORGIA. 



On the Nelson Island K. A. Andersson (8) found the nests of the Great Skua 

 on the low land where the ground was covered by brown möss. The nest was there 

 only a shallow hollow in the möss and lined with small pieces of the same material. 

 The colour of the eggs and youngs agreed very well with the surroundings in this 

 locality so that the nests were difficnlt to see. Similar observations were also made 

 by the Scottish Expedition (21) concerning the young Catharacta on the South 

 Orkneys. The nests were in this latter place usually situated on moss-covered rocks 

 or on plateaus, some times on moraines. On the South Orkneys the eggs were two 

 in number. 



K. A. xAndersson found on the Nelson Island never more than one egg 

 or one young in each nest. The habits seem thus to be different in different 

 places. ' 



All visitors in Antarctic regions agree that the Great Skua is a great pest to 

 most other birds. Sörling's experience is similar and he points out its greediness 

 and impudence. It often selects a nesting-place near the rookeries of the penguins 

 to make its stealing of eggs convenient. Round the nests of such Skuas as breed 

 near the rookeries of penguins broken egg shells of penguins are very numerous. 

 But all kinds of eggs are very welcome to that greedy 2 bird, when the youngs of 

 the penguins are getting about halfgrown, Sörling says, the Great Skua is eagerly 

 looking for the burrows in which Prion and Pelecanoides breed, and even makes 

 attempts to dig out the eggs or youngs of these birds, lying at the opening of the 

 burrow and scratching with its strong crooked claws. Its unsurpassed voraciousness 

 compels it even to swallow its own eggs or youngs. Hall relätes an example of 

 this stating that »a pair promptly did eat one of their own young ones which had 

 been killed» — — — . Sörling observed similar things several times. »On the 

 »Leopard-point», he writes,» below Mount Duse I found a nest of Catharacta with 

 two eggs. One of these was so near hatching that the young had got its head 

 through the shell. I then broke the shell completely and laid back the young un- 

 molested in the nest. As soon as the good old mother-bird returned and saw the 

 young lying in the -nest it instantly — swallowed it ! At another opportunity I 

 found a nest of Catharacta with 3 eggs down at the Moraine Fjord. I picked up 

 the eggs to look at them and put two of them back in the nest again, but the third 

 I placed about 2 decim. from the nest. As soon as the old bird had returned and 

 saw the egg outside the nest she, instead of bringing it back to the nest, — ate it 

 up and then quietly sat down on the remaining two eggs.» 



The Great Skua is always on the look out to get something to eat (Pl. XII 

 fig. 50). It watches the beach if something eatable may be thrown up by the waves. 



1 A very striking illustration to this is obtained if the statements in the following are conipared with 

 that of Capt. Hltton in his book on the »Anhnals of New Zealand» (1904) where he says on p. 222 »the 

 Southern Skua, although it is called Sea Hawk by sailors, shows no disposition to attack other birds. — — 

 — — — It has been given the nanie of Sea Hawk on account of its powerfnl beak and claws, and not on 

 account of a ferocious disposition.» 



8 As an instance of their fearless greediness may be ntentioned that Sörling once took an egg of a 

 penguin and held it ont to a Great Skua and it vvalked up <[uite boldly and tried to crack the egg. 



