DOVEKIE; SEA DOVE
34. Alle alle. 8 inches.
These little auks, called “ice birds” by the fishermen, are very abundant in the far north. In summer, they have a blackish brown throat and breast, but they are never seen in the United States or southern parts of the British possessions in that plumage. In winter, their throats and sides of the head are white as well as the rest of their upper parts. At all seasons the edges of the scapulars and tips of the secondaries are white, as are usually spots on each eyelid. Even in winter, they are only casually found on our coast, for they keep well out at sea. Occasionally they are blown inland by storms and found with their feet frozen fast in the ice of some of our ponds or lakes.
Nest.—They lay single pale greenish blue eggs, placing them in crevices of sea cliffs; size 1.80 × 1.25.
Range.—Breeds on islands in the Arctic Ocean and on the coasts of Northern Greenland; winters south to Long Island and casually farther.
LONG-WINGED SWIMMERS—Order Longipennes
SKUAS AND JÆGERS—Family Stercorariidæ
SKUA
35. Megalestris skua. 22 inches.
These large birds are the most powerful and audacious pirates among the sea fowl of northern waters. Their whole form is indicative of strength; form robust, feet strong, and bill large, powerful and hooked. Their plumage is of a nearly uniform blackish-brown, with white shafts to the wing feathers and a white patch at the base of the primaries.
Nest.—They do not nest in large colonies, only a single or a few pairs breeding in the same locality. Their nests are hollows in the ground, a short distance back from the rocky shores. The two eggs that they lay are olive brown, spotted with blackish (2.75 × 1.90).
Range.—North Atlantic coasts, chiefly on the Old World side, breeding from the Shetland Islands and possibly Greenland, northwards. They are only rarely found on our coasts even in winter, but have been taken as far south as New York.
