THE SKUA 
They both have dark blackish beaks, straight for 
two-thirds of their length and then hooked sharply. 
Their plumage is mottled brown, and some members 
of the family have the breast and underparts white. 
They are large birds, about the size of a Bantam, 
and the eggs correspond in size, having a rough shell 
olive-brown in colour, blotched with darker brown. 
About the beginning of May the Skuas have 
paired and go to their haunts on the tops of cliffs or 
on the slopes of hills or mountains near the sea. 
They tread a hollow nearly a foot across, and this 
they line with moss, dead grass, and a few feathers. 
Two eggs are laid, never any more, and sometimes 
only one. 
When hatched the young are pretty little 
creatures, two shades of chocolate brown in colour, 
darker above and lighter below, and as downy and 
fluffy as any chick could be. If one searches for 
them they are generally found sitting calmly amid 
herrings that the fond parents have brought and 
strewn all about them. Around one nest as many as 
eleven whole fish have been counted. The young 
birds are able to feed themselves, and to leave the 
nest, soon after being hatched. They will run away 
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