176 THE ORNITHOLOGIST. 



adults. Very few dark-coloured birds were seen on either 

 day ; probably not one to ten of the white-breasted birds. 

 "When seen during flight the Pomatorhine Skua's tail pre- 

 sents a very clumsy, awkward appearance, in contrast to the 

 elegantly-pointed tails of the smaller Skuas : this is caused by 

 the two elongated tail feathers being bluntly rounded at the 

 ends, and twisted for nearly half their length, at almost right 

 angles to the plane of the short tail feathers, so that where a 

 side view of the bird is taken, the full breadth of the long tail 

 feathers is shown, giving the tail that thick, clumsy appearance 

 which so easily identifies the Pomatorhine Skua on the wing. 



I could not be quite certain as to which species the birds 

 seen on the second day belonged, for they passed at too great 

 a distance for us to judge of their size and appearance ; but 

 as the first day's flight was undoubtedly made up of Poma- 

 torhines, it may be safely inferred that the second day's was 

 a continuance of the first, and, therefore, was of the same 

 species. 



A very interesting letter from Mr. J. C. Neligan, of Tralee, 

 was read at a meeting of the late Dublin Natural History 

 Society, in March, 1863, describing his meeting with a large 

 flight of Skuas (many of them Pomatorhines) in Tralee Har- 

 bour, on the 25th of October, 1862 — just two days after the last 

 of the Skuas left this on the 23rd — and, I think, satisfactorily 

 proving that the Skuas after leaving this bay, and crossing the 

 island, continued their flight along the coast to Tralee Harbour, 

 where they took shelter, and remained while the stormy 

 weather lasted. 



Since the above date, this Skua, as far as I am aware of, 

 has only occasionally occurred in this and the adjoining county 

 of Mayo. In October, 1890, my friend, Mr. John Garvey, of 

 Ballina, showed me an adult specimen of the black variety of 

 this Skua, which he had shot on Lough Corne, Co. Mayo, the 

 24th of that month ; and on the 8th November same year, the 

 late Dr. Burkett sent my friend, Mr. R. J. Ussher, of Cappagh 

 House, Co. Waterford, an adult bird that he found dead in a 

 field close to his house, near Belmullet, Co. Mayo. Then, 

 during the last week of November, 1890, Dr. H. Scott, of 

 Enniscrone, gave me an immature specimen of the black 



