scapulars, tertials, and upper tail-coverts umber-brown, each
feather margined with wood-brown, these margins being
broadest on the tertials, the lower part of the back, and the
upper tail-coverts ; great wing-coverts nearly uniform umber-
brown ; wing-primaries blackish-brown, the' shafts of these
feathers, and a considerable portion of the inner webs white;
tail-feathers umber-brown, the two middle' tail-feathers in this
young bird not more than half an inch longer than the next
feather on each side; chin, throat, breast, belly, and vent
mottled with buff-coloured- brown, produced by narrow alternate
transverse lines of clove-brown and wood-brown ; under
tail-coverts broadly barred across with umber-brown and
wood-brown ; legs and base of the toes yellow,. anterior part
of the toes and their intervening membranes black.
The whole length of this bird to the end of the tail-feathers
next the central pair, twenty Jnelies ; wing from the anterior
bend fourteen inches and a quarter. The comparative measurements
in an adult bird would be twenty-one inches, and
fifteen inches. - I have seen a specimen of the Pomarine
Skua in the collection,of Mr. Bond, which, was obtained alive
when a young bird in the varied plumage b u n s first-year,
which assumed -the uniform chocolate brown plumage during
its second year; some« specimens barred across the breast
have been named Lestris striatus, as noticed by Mr. Eyton ;
and I have seen two fine old birds, dove-grey on the back,
with the head black, the neclr all round and the breast yellowish
white, with the central tail-feathers elongated, showing
that the Pomarine Skua is subject to all the changes of
plumage which have been so frequently ‘observed in the more
common species next to be described, and of which three
representations are given as illustrations.
The name of Skua is- Considered to have been adopted
from the note of the bird, which sounds like skui.
RICHARDSON’S SKUA.
L e s t r i s R ic h a r d s o n i i o f S w a i n s o n .
Larus parasiticus, Arctic Gull, Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. ii. p. 179, adult.
„ "crepida tus, Black-toed ,, ,, ,, . „ ,, 178, young.
;; parasiticus, Arctic „ Mont. Ornith. Diet, adult.
,, crepidatus, Black-toed ,, ,, „ ' ,, young.
,, parasiticus, " Arctic ,, Bewick^ Brit. Birds, vol. ii. p. 250, adult.
,, crepidatus, Black-toed ,, ,, ,, ,, 252,young.
Cataractes parasiticus, Arctic Skua, F l e m . Brit. An.
(1 ,, ,, ,, Selby, Brit. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 520.
Lestris Richardsonii, Richardson's , , . J enyns, Brit. Vert. p. 282.
, , , , Lestris, Gould, Birds of Europe, pt. iv.
„ „ Stercoraire Richardson,Temm. Man. d’Ornith. vol. iv. p. 499.