SUMMARY.1Records from the literature are collected about the proportions of dark and pale forms of the Pomatorhine Skua.2The breeding range falls into two areas, one from Novaya Zemlya to north‐west Alaska, the other from the Mackenzie River to west Greenland. In both these areas dark birds are evenly distributed in the proportion of 1 in 5–20, though there is a slight suggestion that they. are less common in the second than in the first region.3This even, distribution contrasts with tile cline in dimorph‐ratio known to exist in the Arctic Skua.4Pomatorhine Skuas fluctuate in breeding strength from year to year. This is probably connected with the lemming