. The animals of New Zealand; an account of the dominion's air-breathing vertebrates . f, with reddish brown spots, closer at the thick end ofthe egg, where they sometimes form a ring; length, in. ChathamIslands. Nothing is known about the habits of this bird. Order Gaviae. Bill simple, long, the nostrils lateral. Wings long, primariesten visible, the fifth secondary wanting. Tail with twelvefeathers. Front toes entirely connected by webs; the hind toeshort and elevated. Key 1o the Families. 1. Bill hooked at the tip. not hooked at the tip. 2 2. Tail forked or graduated
. The animals of New Zealand; an account of the dominion's air-breathing vertebrates . f, with reddish brown spots, closer at the thick end ofthe egg, where they sometimes form a ring; length, in. ChathamIslands. Nothing is known about the habits of this bird. Order Gaviae. Bill simple, long, the nostrils lateral. Wings long, primariesten visible, the fifth secondary wanting. Tail with twelvefeathers. Front toes entirely connected by webs; the hind toeshort and elevated. Key 1o the Families. 1. Bill hooked at the tip. not hooked at the tip. 2 2. Tail forked or graduated. Steruida;.Tail square at the end. Laridfe. Familjj Stercorariidac. Bill with skin at the base, the tip of the upper mandible with strong, sharp, hooked claws. THE SKUA GULL 229 Key to tJie Genera. The two middle tail feathers projecting. Stercorarins. Two middle tail feathers not longer. Megalestris. Genus smaller, fomi slender. Tarsus distinctly shorter than themiddle toe with its claw. Central tail feathers projecting threeinches or more in (.Meyer.) The Skua Gull. Stercorarins and wing-coverts brownish cinereous; top of the head brown;neck and breast white; abdomen dusky. Quills and tail black; two longnarrow plumes from the tail. Eye chestnut brown. Length of the wing13 in.; of the tarsus, in. Breeds in the Arctic regions, and passessouth in the winter. It has not been recorded from the coasts of theSouth Island. Genus larger, form robust. Tarsus rather shorter than the middletoe with its claw. Tail short, the middle feathers only projectingfor half-an-inch. 230 THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND The Sea Hawk.— , finely stieaked with pale yellow on the back of the half of the quills and their shafts white. Eye brown. The paleyellow streaks on the back of the neck are absent in the young of the wing, 17 in.; of the tarsus, in. Egg—Olive
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectb, booksubjectzoology
