Richardson’s skua. 
397 
number of the more northern Scottish islands. Mr. Montgomery 
mentions that this bird has been shot at Dunany Point, county 
Louth, by Lieut. Wray, E.N. ; and that he saw an immature 
specimen in a fresh state about the year 1846 (in Mr. Giennon’s, 
Suffolk Street, Dublin). It was said to have been shot inland at 
Powerscourt, county Wicklow. In a subsequent communication 
my correspondent states that he had seen — but never within shot 
— several of these birds, both adult and young, in the Bay of 
Drogheda, within the first three weeks of September 1850. 
Sir Wm. Jardine considers that this "is certainly the most 
common of the British skuas/’ * and that late in autumn it is not 
unfrequent in the Erith of Eorth, where he has procured many 
specimens in various states of plumage, from having shot both the 
adult and young : Mr. Yarrell, too, considers it the most common. 
It would be difficult to say' what Lestris is the most frequent 
on the Irish shores, as the skuas, though daily seen in the autumn 
on some parts of the coast, are not often shot ; but it is singular 
that of the species considered the rarest in England and Scotland 
—L. longicauclatus — most specimens have come under my in- 
spection ; and of the next rarest — L. pomarinus — as indeed of 
the L. catarrhactes also, I have seen more individuals than of 
the L. BicJiardsdnii noticed as the most common species in Great 
Britain. 
The editor of the f Edinburgh Philosophical Journal’ adds 
(vol. i. p. 104, 1819) the following note to an interesting paper 
of Dr. Eleming’s, " On the Arctic and Skua Gulls During 
our six days’ confinement by a storm, on the dreary and remote 
rock of Eoulah, we had frequent opportunities of observing the 
arctic skua. This bird we found fully as troublesome as the com- 
mon skua, for the moment we approached near to its nest it beat 
us upon the head and in the face with its wings, and continued to 
pursue us until we quitted its domain.” 
Mr. James Wilson, in his f Voyage round the Coast of Scot- 
land and the Isles/ thus describes what was to him a new 
feature in this bird’s habits : — Saw around us for the first 
* ‘ Brit. Birds/ vol. iv. p. 267. 
