i24 British Birds, with their Nests and Eggs. 



a note on the occurrence of a flock of this bird to the Devonshire coast, on the 

 afternoon of October 14th, 1891, when the south-westerly gale, .which had been 

 blowing continuously for more than forty- eight hours, seemed to reach its climax. 

 "Just as daylight was waning, a large flock of Buffon's Skua suddenly came in 

 from the sea and settled on the sands, well out of reach of the incoming tide. 

 They appeared quite exhausted, and allowed a near approach, getting up one by 

 one, flying a short distance and settling again. Many birds were secured which 

 were found to varj? much in plumage, the majority having mottled feathers, grey, 

 brown and white in irregular patches, the under parts especially varying in degree 

 of white; two or three were assuming adult plumage, and had the central tail 

 feathers quite five inches longer than the rest. One bird was chocolate-brown all 

 over. The webbed feet of all the specimens were marbled. During the same gale 

 specimens of Buffon's Skua were observed along the south coast of Devon and 

 on the Bristol Channel, on its north coast." In Ireland, this Skua is of occasional 

 occurrence, in autumn, on some parts of the north and east coast. 



The breeding range of this species is mainly to the north of the Arctic Circle, 

 but it nests in some of the high Scandanavian fells. In winter it migrates south- 

 ward, along the western coasts of Europe, to the entrance to the Mediterranean, 

 and down the eastern side of America, as also on its Pacific coast, as far as 40 N. 



This species very rarely exhibits the peculiar plumage phases of Richardson's 

 Skua. The female is similar to the male, except that she has, perhaps, the central 

 tail feathers shorter than those of the male. 



In breeding plumage the front, crown, nape and sides of the head blackish- 

 brown ; lower cheeks and neck white, washed with deep j^ellow ; mantle and 

 scapulars greyish-brown ; " primaries darker and blackish towards the extremities ; 

 shafts of the two outer pairs of quills white, but those of all the rest distinctly 

 brown " (Saunders) ; iipper tail-coverts and tail brownish-black ; the elongated, 

 tapering, central tail feathers ashy-grey at base, brownish-black elsewhere; the 

 abdomen, sides of body, and under surface of wing, and under tail- coverts, dark 

 brownish-ashy ; throat and breast white, passing into yellow at the neck ; bill 

 corneous ; legs bluish-black; toes black; webs black. Dength 22 inches; wing 

 nf ; tail 5 1, to the end of the elongated central feathers 14; tarsus i»; middle 

 toe, with its claw, ii. "The distinctly grey tint is very characteristic of this 

 species in all stages" (Saunders). The elongate acuminate feathers of Buffon's 

 Skua distinguish it from the Great and the Pomatorhine Skuas. 



In June, this bird forms a nest simply by depressing the grass or moss, and 

 herein deposits two eggs, which are indistinguishable by colour from those of 

 Richardson's Skua, and of about the same size. Mr. Pearson found, in Russian 



