McCORMICK'S SKUA GULL 



miles distant, whereas the only men who ever 

 inhabited Cape Adare wintered there some fifteen 

 years before. But this is mere speculation. 



When one of the parent Skuas is on the ground 

 near its nest, on the approach of any one it throws 

 its head back, opens its wings, and loudly proclaims 

 its whereabouts with its raucous cawing notes. 

 When hovering over food, and at other times when 

 not alarmed or angry, the sounds made by a Skua 

 are very like those of the common Herring Gull, 

 and not altogether unmusical at times, especially 

 when making the little shrill piping note, by which 

 I have often thought that gulls so nearly imitate 

 the squeaking of a block in its sheave. 



When the penguin chicks are hatched, the Skuas 

 prey upon these in a most cruel manner, and should 

 a chick wander away from the protecting old birds, 

 a Skua is almost certain to pounce upon and kill 

 it. This it does by pecking its eyes out, after 

 which, with powerful strokes of its beak, it gets 

 to work on its back and quickly devours the 

 kidneys. 



The dead bodies of hundreds of chicks are seen 

 strewn about the rookery, and especially in the 

 neighbourhood of the Skuas' nests, as very often 

 they carry them there. All these dead chicks are 



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