named author states that it breeds in colonies, but
that the nests are scattered over a considerable area.
Von Middendorff, who obtained the first authenticated
eggs of this species, says that this Skua arrives on its
breeding-grounds on the Taimur Peninsula on the 17th
of June, that eggs were laid on the 4th of July, and
that young in down appeared on the 27th. On the
lGth of September they were still at their breeding-grounds,
and one was seen on the 3rd of October.
The nest is placed in the grass or moss in the open
tundra; the number of eggs is invariably two, and in
colour they precisely resemble those of Richardson's
Skua. The food of the present species consists of fish,
crustaceans, and molluscs, in addition to the insects,
fruit, lemmings, or small birds which form its chief
diet during the breeding-season. The parents defend
their young with great bravery, and at sea follow and
bully the flocks of Kittiwakes after the fashion of the
other members of the Skua-family. This bird has been
captured in the Straits of Gibraltar, and exceptionally
straggles into the western basin of the Mediterranean.