THE GREAT SKUA. 
353 
all kinds, and either eat them or wantonly destroy them.^ 
When we arrived at the breeding ground we heard the low^ 
croaking sound made by a Skua as it flew directly before us, 
and had we followed the bird, we should have lost all chance of 
hiiding the nest ; but we stood quite still, and the bird suddenly 
wheeled and made a wide circle round us, keeping rather close 
to the ground. We immediately separated, and walked in 
opposite directions, whereupon the bird kept nearer to me than 
to my companion, and it thus became evident that I was not 
far from the nest. The farther I walked in one particular 
direction, the more impatient the poor bird became, stooping 
within a few feet of my head, and circling above me, apparently 
in the greatest anxiety for the safety of its treasure. Well 
accustomed as I was to the ways of the Skua during the 
breeding season, it was nevertheless with no little effort that I 
refrained from swerving aside every time the bird, suddenly 
dropping from a height, came charging directly towards my 
face ; however, it always rose abruptly when within a few feet 
of me, and passed over my head with great velocity, its wings 
being fully expanded and perfectly steady, causing, as they 
rushed through the air, a noise exactly like that of a small sky- 
rocket. After watching these manoeuvres for some time, I 
resumed the search upon the ground, and soon found an egg, in 
a nest which consisted of a neatly-rounded ca\dty in the moss 
and heather measuring about eleven inches in diameter, and 
lined with small pieces of moss, heather, and dry grass. Pre- 
sently we found many more Skuas’ eggs, but we only brought 
home a couple, being unwilling to further decrease the already 
too scanty race, though in a few years more it will matter 
very little whether we took all or none. Very soon there 
will be no more Skuas on Hermaness. 
The eggs of this bird are naturally much prized, and in con- 
sequence of the value set on them by the collectors, numerous 
frauds are committed in the supplying, the variations in 
' * This was written in 1861, and may possibly not apply to the present 
officials. — E d. 
Z 
