174 THE ORNITHOLOGIST. 



from a tussock. We chanced to lose sight of her, and on 

 scanning the region with our glass to rediscover her where- 

 abouts, we detected a Mallard Duck walking slowly up the 

 hillslope. The Duck, from her actions, had evidently young 

 or eggs somewhere near, and for the time she claimed our 

 attention. She stood on the slope a minute or so, and waddled 

 to the top of the low knowe, then rose and flew in proper 

 unagitated manner. Keeping near the ground she passed round 

 the moss, and as she was flying in our direction she was struck 

 severely on the back by the Skua with a thud distinctly audible 

 to us. No cry was uttered by either party ; the Duck flew on 

 to a mosshole and alighted there, whilst the Skua returned to 

 her perch on a small mound. 



In another region we saw a Goldeneye rise from a lochside 

 and fly rapidly over the water ; its speed attracted the notice 

 of a Skua, who swooped down upon it, and forced it to descend 

 with great rapidity to the loch and dive at once to escape the 

 blow, whilst the Skua passed on unconcerned. 



Concerning the phases of plumage in this bird we cannot 

 speak, but we may say that the few birds of the year seen in 

 flight by us before leaving Shetland belonged to the dark form. 

 Pairs of breeding birds generally consisted of a black and 

 a white bird. 



THE SKUAS OF KILLALA BAY, CO. MAYO. 

 By Eobert Warren. 



Only three species of the Skua family have as yet been 

 known as visitors to this bay. The Pomatorhine, Bichard- 

 son's, and Buffon's Skua. 



Pomatorhine Skua (Lestris pomatorhinus). Up to the 

 publication of the late William Thompson's "Birds of Ireland," 

 in 1851, very little was known of this Skua as an Irish visitor ; 

 only nine specimens being recorded by him, of which two were 

 obtained in Belfast Bay — one in the autumn of 1834, and the 

 second on October 16th, 1848, both immature birds ; and the 

 remaining seven were obtained at various times up to 1850 in 



