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it so numerous about Novaya Zeiulya as the Pomatorhine or Buffon's Skuas ; but Messrs. Harvie- 

 Brown and Seebohm met with it commonly on the Petchora; and I have received both the 

 white-breasted and dark varieties from Archangel. Mr. Sabanaeff informs me that it has once 

 been obtained near Moscow on passage, and it occurs on the coasts of the Baltic provinces. 

 Borggreve says that it occurs more frequently on the coasts of Germany than the other species 

 of Skuas. Von Preen states that it occurs almost every spring on the Schwerin lake; and 

 Gloger records it as occurring in Silesia. Occasionally it is met with tolerably far inland ; and 

 Dr. Bey remarks that a young bird was shot close to Halle, in Saxony, and two old ones at 

 Loeberitz. Kjserbolling states that it is met with on the coasts of Denmark, and, though not 

 very common, it is the most numerous of the Skuas, and it is stated to breed there. It occurs 

 now and again on the Dutch coast, and visits the coast of Belgium irregularly after severe, 

 stormy weather, but is rarely seen on the Scheldt or the Rhine. Along the coasts of the north 

 of France it is the most abundant of the family, and has several times been obtained about the 

 mouth of the Phone and on the shores of Provence. I do not find it recorded from Portugal ; 

 but it is met with on the Spanish coast ; and Mr. Howard Saunders surmises that there may 

 possibly be some breeding-place along the western shores of France, for both old and very young- 

 birds occur at Malaga early in August. Young birds of the year have been obtained in Switzer- 

 land; and in Italy it has occurred at intervals along the coasts of the northern provinces, 

 Venetia, Liguria, and Tuscany ; but to the south of this I do not find it recorded. It is of very 

 rare occurrence in Southern Germany. Herr von Pelzeln states that there is a specimen in the 

 Vienna Museum which was shot at the Neusiedler lake, in Hungary ; and Messrs. Danford and 

 Harvie-Brown write (Ibis, 1875, p. 433) that the present species is included in a list of Tran- 

 sylvanian birds in the collection of Graf Lazar. 



I do not find any record of the occurrence of this Skua in Asia Minor or North-east Africa ; 

 but Colonel Irby states (Orn. Sir. Gibr. p. 216) that it is not uncommon in winter on the Tangier 

 coast, though Favier only mentions one specimen, killed near Tangier in 1844. On the west 

 coast of Africa, however, it ranges as far south as the Cape of Good Hope. Mr. Andersson says 

 that it is not uncommon on many parts of the south-west coast of Africa, and he has often killed 

 it at Walwich Bay. It frequents, he adds, " the innermost shallows and lagoons on the coast, 

 but is not equally abundant throughout the year, apparently retiring from that part of the coast 

 during the breeding-season." Mr. Layard has met with the present species commonly at the 

 Cape of Good Hope from December to February ; and Mr. Saunders, who examined a series of 

 examples from the Cape, remarks that almost all were birds of less than a year old. 



To the eastward I find the present species of Skua recorded from the coast of Sindh, where, 

 Mr. A. O. Hume states (Stray Feathers, i. p. 268), it is common at sea along the coasts and in 

 the Gulf of Oman ; and Mr. Blanford says that it is not rare on the Mekran coast. It occurs in 

 Northern Siberia, for Von Middendorff met with it breeding on the Taimyr and Boganida; but 

 neither Von Schrenck nor Dr. Eadde include it as occurring in Eastern Siberia. 



On the American coasts Richardson's Skua is tolerably widely distributed. It is met with 

 in the Hudson' s-Bay Territory, and appears to be tolerably common on the northern portions of 

 the east coast ; but, though Parry is said to have met with it up to 82° 2' N. lat., Captain Feilden 

 informs me that when on the ' Alert,' in the recent Arctic expedition, he never saw this Skua 



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