6, THE NATURAL HISTORY 
| heath. When-difturbed, it flies about like a Lap 
wing, but foon alights. The female makes-a 
neft with graf$ and mofs, ona hillock, ina marfhy 
place, and lays twoeggs.. It does not often fwim;. 
but the Artic Gull, and’ the Wagell Gull,. fly 
after other Gulls, and frighten them fo much. 
that they vomit up (through fear) the fifh which. - 
_. they have taken, and thefe Gulls catch them be-. 
fore they reach the fea, 
But.of all the Gulls,. the Skua is the oe : 
The bill is very hooked at the end,. and very. 
fharp : it has a cere. over. more than half the bill. 
(The Arétic Gull too has a cere.) Its legs are: 
covered. with black. fcales,, and its talons are 
ftrong and crooked. It. feeds onfith, and on all. 
the fmaller.kind of. water-fowl. The Skua Gull. 
is very, bold; for it will Ay after Eagles, and 
drive them away. In the Orknies, the inhabi-. 
tants are very fond of them,.becaufe they prevent: 
Eagles from deftroying the poultry.. It ‘not. 
only preys on the leffer Gulls, and on other birds, 
Hike the Hawk, but it often attacks them on the- 
wing, like the Arétic Gull, to make them throw. 
up, the fifh which they have fwallowed. It will. 
g Aly with great fury upon thofe. who are fo cruel as. 
to attempt to rob it of its young. It builds its. 
neft amongft dry grafs ; and whilft building, itis. 
: | yery. 
