8 
Mr. R. Hall on the 
horn-colour, with tips of mandibles cream. The eggs were 
generally two and sometimes three in number, but oc¬ 
casionally there was only one. The measurements of 15 
specimens ranged between 2*2 x 1*5 inch and 2*4 x 1*6. As 
a large series of eggs shows much variation, I give below 
the descriptions of four types : — 
(a) Creamy-white ground, with small, thin, purplish 
blotches appearing as if beneath the surface. On this sur¬ 
face are light to deep brown irregular blotches of nearly the 
same size, occupying about one fifth part, and being more 
numerous towards the larger end. 
( b ) Base creamy white, with streaky grey-slate smears 
on it and some heavy brown blotches. The ground-colour 
is visible only on about one third portion of the egg. 
(c) Creamy-white ground, with bold blotches, varying 
from black to brown. 
( d ) This and the preceding (c) are the standard types of 
some 30 eggs observed by me. In d the ground-colour is 
light brown, and the irregular blotchings of umber-brown 
vary from light to dark. Less than one half of the ground¬ 
colour is visible to the eye. 
Megalestris Antarctica (Lesson); Saunders, Cat. B. 
xxv. p. 319. 
More details of the field-life of the Great Skua have been 
written than on any other bird of the island, yet there are 
more to follow. When one bird tries to kill and eat its 
wounded mate, and a pair promptly did eat one of their own 
young ones which had been killed, it will be agreed that the 
term “Vulture-Hawk” is not misapplied to it. Both these 
occurrences were observed by the writer. Like previous 
observers, I was, at first, continually mistaking this web¬ 
footed bird for a Hawk. It pesters all other birds while on 
the wing, and the rabbits are harassed beyond endurance. I 
have seen it worrying Albatrosses and Petrels at 1100 miles 
from shore, to the eastward of Kerguelen. There the 
Spectacled Petrel made its clear treble notes heard in protest, 
and the Mollymawks (Diomedea melanophrys ) would settle 
upon the water to escape further molestation. 
