GEEAT SKUA.
LESTRIS CATARRHACTES (Linn.).
Larus catai'ractes, Linn. S. N. i. p. 226 (1766).
Lestris cataractes, Naum. x. p. 470.
Lestris catarractes, Macg. v. p. 479; Hewitson, ii. p. 505.
Stercorarius catarrhactes, Yarr. ed. 4, iii. p. 6 6 2 ; Dresser,
viii. p. 457.
Skua, Bonxie, French; Grosse Raub-Move, German;
Cágalo (applied to all the Skuas), Spanish.
I cannot remember having identified a Great Skua on
wing except on one occasion, shortly after rounding
Cape Finisterre on our passage in my yacht from
Santander to Vigo in December 1878, when a solitary
individual of this species sailed past our vessel within
gunshot range. I am therefore unable to dilate upon
the habits of the bird in a wild state. The only breeding-
places of these fine birds in the British Islands are
in the Shetlands, on the islands of Unst and Foula,
where, owing to the most praiseworthy protection
afforded to them by the landowners, they still hold their
ground in some numbers in spite of the constant raids
of collectors, who offer such high prices for the eggs that