WATCHING GULLS AND SKUAS 123 



hit one with the anterior surface, and there is not 

 the slightest attempt to scratch or grasp with them. 

 The force that can be put into such a blow is but 

 slight, and, even in appearance, there is something 

 trivial and inadequate about it that takes away from 

 the effect of the bold sweep, which, in the case of 

 the great skua especially, strikes the imagination, 

 and is, indeed, a fine sight. A terrific blow with the 

 wing, or a seizing and tearing with beak and claw, 

 as with an eagle, would seem the fitting sequel to 

 such power and fierceness." 



This failure of the sublime, and falling almost into 

 the ridiculous, cannot be observed when one is one- 

 self the object of attack, and, moreover, the buffets 

 that one is constantly receiving, though quite out 

 of proportion to the size and fury of the birds, are 

 often so stinging and disagreeable as to spoil one 

 for looking at the matter from such a point of view. 

 A ruse, however, may be adopted, and the scales 

 then fall from one's eyes. For instance : " To-day I 

 sat down by the almost fledged chick of a pair of 

 great skuas, and, drawing my plaid over my head, 

 numbered the attacks of the parent birds. When I 

 began to count it was 3.13 P.M., and at 3.30 they 

 had made between them — turn and turn about — 136 

 swoops at me. Of these, 6^ were hits and 69 

 misses. Some of the hits were very — indeed, ex- 

 tremely — violent, so that without the plaid I could not 

 have stood it, and even as it was, it was unpleasant. 

 The blow is always delivered with the feet, though 

 sometimes (and pretty often as it seemed to me) a 

 portion of the bird's body touches one at the same 

 time, thus giving more weight and force to it. The 



