52 



THE FOOD OF ANIMALS 



ill-gotten booty before it reaches the water. These birds in- 

 habit the colder parts of the world, but Richardson's Skua {Ster- 

 corarius crepidatus) is pretty common in the extreme north of 

 Scotland. Other species are also known. R. Kearton (in Wild 

 Life at Home) gives an interesting photograph of a Great Skua 

 or Bonxie {S. catarrhactes) attacking a watcher who has ap- 

 proached the nest. This was taken on the island of Unst, in 

 the Shetlands. 



Scissor-bills or Skimmers {Rkynckops) constitute a small group 

 of gull-like birds, inhabiting North America, Egypt, and India. 



Fig. 343. — Scissor-BiU [Rhynclwps] hunting 



The common names have reference to the structure and action 

 of the long compressed beak, of which the lower half projects 

 considerably beyond the upper portion. The Scissor-bills skim 

 along close to the surface of the water, with the lower part of 

 the beak immersed, and the upper mandible can be worked up 

 and down so as to secure any small fishes which are so unfor- 

 tunate as to find themselves skimmed on to the projecting part 

 of the beak (fig. 343). 



Some marine birds are pelagic in habit — that is to say, are 

 found far from land, where they play havoc among the finny 

 tribes. The most notable of these are the Frigate- Birds, Alba- 

 trosses, and Storm Petrels, all of which have hooked beaks and 

 possess considerable powers of flight. The Frigate- Birds (fig. 

 344) are related to the pelicans, and include the Great Fri- 

 gate- Bird [Fregatus aquild) of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian 

 Oceans, and the Lesser Frigate- Bird {F. minor), from the last 



