BLACK-BACKED OR PACIFIC GULL 67 
or two inland, beating athwart the wind exactly like 
great slow-moving birds of prey. Curiously enough, 
they are not at all common on the coast outside the 
Heads, though it is nearer to their breeding-places. 
The nesting season begins early in November, and 
at that time these gulls are to be found on all the 
smaller islands of Bass Straits, particularly such as 
have a rocky central ridge with a good growth of 
tussocks. Not in colonies, like the smaller Gull and 
the Terns, but scattered along these windy ridges 
the Pacific Gulls make their coarse nests, mere rough 
cups and depressions in the tussock grass, laying 
usually three eggs, in colour olive, handsomely marked 
with varying shades of brown and amber. 
This Gull has a loud and harsh cry — some say 
it repeats the word Ours ! Ours ! — and is very pug- 
nacious, quite belying its name. No Gannet dare 
leave her nest for a moment if there is a Pacific Gull 
in the vicinity, or goodbye to the egg. 
ARCTIC SKUA 
Stercorarius parasiticus 
The Arctic Skua shares with some of the Sandpipers 
the distinction of being the farthest-travelling of our 
migratory birds. As yet it is not known in what part 
of the Northern Hemisphere those Skuas breed which 
come to us in our summer — the common view is 
that they nest in Asia within the Arctic circle ; but 
even supposing that they do not go farther north 
