172 
LARID^. 
Like the common skua the Pomerine Skua passes much of 
its time at sea, where it feeds on the carcasses of all kinds of 
fish, partly hy robbing the gulls in the manner described in 
the foregoing species, partly by making free with the dead 
floating bodies of whales, and other marine animal sub¬ 
stances. 
On the approach of the summer months Pomerine Skuas 
congregate in the hilly and rocky districts of the northern 
sea-shores, where they make the necessary preparations for 
breeding. 
The nest is composed of grasses, and we are informed that 
the number of eggs is two or three, of an olive stone colour, 
spotted all over with dusky brown spots. 
The places chosen for the construction of the nest are, ac¬ 
cording to various ornithologists, either marshes or rocks ; it is 
our supposition, therefore, that the skua is not very particular 
in the choice of the locality, provided it is not likely to be 
visited by man. 
The present species is an enemy of all the gull tribes, and 
pursues them on the wing in the same manner as before-men¬ 
tioned; it is, however, not so formidable as the foregoing, 
although equally pugnacious. Among its own species it is 
rather more sociable, and less fond of straying about alone, 
but with the exception of the time of breeding, not many are 
met with together. 
The Pomerine Skua measures twenty inches in length ; 
the beak one inch six lines from the forehead, two inches 
from the gape ; the tarsus two inches ; the wing fourteen 
inches. 
The plumage of the adult male of the Pomerine Skua has 
the upper part of the head, front of the face, and nape, 
chocolate brown; the back, wings, and tail purplish brown ; 
the chin and sides of the face are white ; the back of the 
