ICAWIDUOS. 4 Sz LON € ‘ S IRAIRIOO y LC OEE lee tlle? ut. HC Richter;del,ctlith STERCORARIUS LONGICAUDUS, Long-tailed Skua. 2? Larus crepidatus, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. 1. p. 602, Stercorarius longicaudus, Vieill. Cuy. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., tom. XXX Lestris parasiticus, Temm. Man. d’Orn 7 oe ——— Buffoni, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 562. Stercorarius cepphus, Leach, Swains. Faun. Bor.-Amer. Catharacta cepphus, Keys. und Blas. Wirb. Eur. Cataractes longicaudatus, Macgill. M il. p. 157.—Briss. Orn., tom. vi. pp. 150, 155. édit tom. ii. p. 796. PaO eerie p. 432. » p. 95. an. Nat. Hist. Orn., vol. ii. p. 258. Stercorarius cepphus, Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. iii, P. 653, Stercorarius, sp. 2. Buffoni, Coues, Proc. Acad. Sci. Philad., 1863, p. 136. The Arctic Bird, Edw. Nat. Hist. of Birds, part iil. pl. 148. Buffon’s Skua of British Ornithologists. a a ee I aporr the specific term longicaudus for this elegant bird because it is a very appropriate appellation, and there is little doubt of its being the oldest that bas been applied to it, the bird being sufficiently well described as Stercorarius longicaudatus by Brisson in 1760 (see his ‘ Ornithologie,’ vol. vi. p. 155). It is, undoubtedly, the “ Arctic Bird” of Edwards , although his figure represents the bird with yellow tarsi and black toes in lieu of the normal colouring. Adult birds with yellow tarsi are now before me, and parti- cularly a Cornish-killed example, sent for my inspection by Mr. Rodd, an examination of which seems to prove that the part of the legs which is grey in the living birds changes to dull yellow after being mounted and exposed to light. It will be recollected that in Richardson’s Skua the tarsi and toes are uniform in colour. It will be seen, on reference, that the foregoing species CS. parasiticus) is strictly an inhabitant of and breeds in the British Islands. The present bird, on the other hand, has never been known to incubate on any of them, although it has been frequently shot in spring off our coasts. Five splendid adalt examples were sent to Mr. Leadbeater to be preserved, early in June 1860; they had been shot out of a large flight which appeared a few days previously off the coast of Ireland, and which was probably performing its annual northward migration. The period was remarkable for violent gales of wind and rough weather, which, by compelling the birds to adopt an unusual route, may account for the occurrence of so many individuals of a rare bird at one time. They were in the finest state of plumage ; and dissection proved that three were females and one at least a male. The latter was considerably smaller than the former ; and it will be interesting if ornithologists, in their future investigation of this group, can give any proof that the males of the members of this genus are constantly less than the females. Besides these fire birds, I have been favoured by E. H. Rodd, Esq., with a specimen which was killed in Falmouth Harbour ; I have also seen a young individual in the collection of Mr. Fox at Palmvouthy; and Mr. Gatcombe infornis me that immature examples are not uncommonly seen near Eee i autumn. From the foregoing remarks it will be perceived that the British Islands are beyond the limits of the area usually frequented a circumstance illustrative of the old adage that two of a trade can never agree; the by this species ce Se ie i 1 > ing its 1 P