VOMERINE SKUA. 
\Td 
neck, the sides and upper part of the breast are straw yellow, 
finely streaked with brown ; the lower breast and belly white ; 
the vent and under tail-coverts are dusky; the flanks and 
sides of the breast spotted with dusky ; the quills are dusky, 
their shafts and those of the tail are white, except the ex¬ 
treme ends; the tail consists of twelve feathers, the two 
middle ones are round at their tips, of equal width through¬ 
out, and extend three inches beyond the rest in length ; the 
beak is blue at the base, and black at the tip on both man¬ 
dibles ; the legs are also blue ; the feet are black; the eyes 
are brown ; the gape orange red, but this does not show when 
the beak is closed. 
The young bird of the year has the head, neck, breast, and 
belly, of a cinereous dusky colour, and tinged with yellow on 
the breast and belly ; the entire upper plumage is rufous 
brown; the feathers of the back, the scapulars and secon¬ 
daries are tipped with yellow straw colour; the rest as in the 
adult. 
The three species of skua, namely, the Pomerine, the 
Arctic, and Richardson’s Skua, are to be distinguished by 
their different middle tail-feathers, and they are in the adult 
birds as follows ; viz.—• 
The Pomerine Skua has the two middle tail-feathers 
of equal breadth throughout, projecting three inches beyond 
the rest. 
The Arctic Skua has the two middle tail-feathers gradually 
tapering from the base to the tip, and projecting from six to 
nine inches beyond the rest. 
The Richardson’s Skua has the two middle tail-feathers 
tapering from the base to the tip, projecting only three inches 
beyond the rest. 
