BIOLOGY UBBAftY BIRD LIFE IN ARCTIC NORWAY H popular Brochure ROBERT .COLLETT Foreign Member, Z.S. Professor of Zoology in the University of Christiania TRANSLATED BY ALFRED HENEAGE COCKS, M.A., F.Z.S. Xoufcon R. H. PORTER 18, PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, W 1894 [Price 2/- Net.] BIRD LIFE IN ARCTIC NORWAY. BIRD LIFE IN ARCTIC NORWAY H popular Brochure ROBERT COLLETT M Foreign Member, Z.S. Professor of Zoology in the University of Christiania TRANSLATED BY ALFRED HENEAGE COCKS, M.A., F.Z.S. Xonfcon R. H. PORTER 18, PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, W. 1894 BIOLOGY LIBRARY G BIOLOGY LIBRARY TO PROFESSOR ALFRED NEWTON, M.A., F.R.S., F.Z.S., PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY AND COMPARATIVE ANATOMY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, THE ENGLISH EDITION IS (BY PERMISSION) DEDICATED. D 886665 This paper was written for the Second International Ornithological Congress, held in Budapest, in May, 1891, and a portion of it was read during one of the meetings of the Congress. The Author wishes there- fore to call attention to the fact that it is adapted to an audience whose conceptions of the natural features of the country described could not be supposed to be great. And in order that the character of the paper in its Norwegian form should be entirely popular, sundry sections or remarks contained in the original edition, were omitted, which might be assumed to have interest for specialists rather than for general readers. Examples of all the species of birds treated of, may be found set up in the Christiania University Zoological Museum, the greater number of them collected in the very regions, whose nature is here sketched from observations during seven summers' wanderings in those parts of the country. NOTE BY THE TRANSLATOR. " Bird Life in Arctic Norway " was originally written for the congress in German, a revised and somewhat condensed edition being subsequently published in Norwegian. It is this latter edition that, at Professor Collett's request, I have, and I fear very inadequately, translated. However im- perfect the result, the attempt has given me much pleasure, as some slight acknowledgment of kindnesses shown me by the author, in my many migrations through Christiania. The appendix was added at the suggestion of Mr. Sclater, by whose advice also I have (with the author's consent) altered the synonomy and arrangement of species to accord with the British Ornithologists' Union list, as more convenient for English readers. I have to thank Mr. T. Southwell, F.Z.S., for kindly looking over the proof-sheets, and making many valuable suggestions. A. H. C. ORWAY is the northern tourist land ; the Switzer- land of North Europe. Norway also has its shining Ice-braes, larger than any other glaciers in the continent of Europe. It has waterfalls of matchless beauty, which precipitate themselves with noise like thunder, a depth of 700 feet, to where no human eye can reach, nor foot tread their margin. It also has its Alps, mighty and snow-clad, as the Swiss Alps them- selves, although of less considerable heights ; but the nature and ordinary character of the Alpine scenery in the two lands, are entirely different. At the foot of the Swiss Alps winds a belt of chestnut and walnut trees, on their slopes flourish even vines, and the inhabitants grow wheat on the shores of charming lakes or in the warm valley bottoms, where the mulberry-tree, the fig- tree, and the maize also flourish. The Norwegian Alps rise as a rule from a lofty mountain plateau ; their summits are sometimes decidedly imposing, and their confused masses of mountain-ridges and deep valleys picturesque ; but no trees wreath the bases of the peaks, except the uppermost stragglers of the stunted pines and birches ; and in the corries on the mountain-sides and upon the plateaux, large tracts are covered with thickets of the silver- gray mountain-willow, which in turn are succeeded higher up by monotonous areas covered by various species of lichen. Here, in the belt of gray mountain-willow (Salix lapponum, and 5. glauca), is the home of the Willow Grouse, here is the goal of the sportsman's longing ; but the height between three and four thousand feet above the level of the sea, and the more northerly situation, cause these mountain-wastes from which our proudest peaks rise directly, to be only inhabited in the summer-time by scattered "Saeter" folk (or mountain-dairy people), or to be frequented by the numerous summer visitors, Tourists and Sportsmen. But Norway has another group of Alps, which Switzerland has not. This is the continuous mountain range which raises its snow-clad summits directly from the sea itself, in an almost un- broken chain from the borders of Nordland, straight on, nearly up to North Cape. Through six degrees of latitude these sea Alps form a continu- ous wall, shutting off the inner, somewhat lower districts; and ending particularly picturesquely, when they form as in Lofoten, a separate branch, which bends out from the principal series, and extends like a row of gigantic shark's teeth, floating upon the surface of the sea, straight out into the Arctic ocean. "Lofoten's wall" is seen to the greatest perfection when it is viewed from the south, illuminated by the rays of an evening sun, until the last points of land lose themselves far away in the west, more than 60 miles* to seaward. At Bodo, a little south of Lofoten, but also within the Arctic circle, begins Norway's Arctic region, the land of the midnight sun. From here the course lies across fjords or through narrow sounds, where the mountains which rise to over 3,000 feet, are wreathed on the sea-ward side with a belt of dark-green mountain-birch (Betula odovata, vav. alpigena) ; whilst their tops, the whole summer through, bear the remnants of their white winter dress. Near the North Cape this Nordland scenery first begins to lose something of its character : the mountains become lower, and North Cape itself forms a plateau with vertical cliffs down to the Arctic Ocean, the height of which hardly reaches 1000 feet. On the eastern side of the Cape the deep fjords of Finmar- ken open towards the south, and Porsangerfjord, Laxefjord, Tana- fjord, and lastly Varangerfjord all cut their way, one after the other, deep into the land. Here the coast scenery is quite different to what we have seen hitherto. The shores are lower, partly swampy, and clothed with vegetation, in some places reminding one of the Tundra region in their fauna and flora ; here is the home of the Arctic waders (Tringa and Totanus genera), which leaving their winter quarters in Mediterranean lands and Africa, * 100 Kilometers. XI select spots, often while the snow is still covering large tracts, where they may hatch out their young, during our short but sunny summer. Finally, from the inmost heads of the fjords, the land rises up to the monotonous wastes of Finmarken, or Lapland proper, clothed with sparse birch-forest, and pierced by rivers and lakes, regions which have great attractions for the sportsman and naturalist, but less so for the ordinary tourist, who only seeks after diversified scenery, and has not patience enough to wage throughout the short polar summer, a semi-hopeless war against the mosquitoes which swarm here. We shall in what follows, treat of some few traits of the Bird- life in that portion of our land. Let us therefore make in imag- ination a rapid flight to this north-westernmost corner of Europe, wander through the three natural zones, whereof Arctic Norway consists, and each of which shows quite peculiar characteristics, and in the meanwhile seize by degrees, whatever particularly strikes our attention on the way. The three natural divisions re- ferred to are : I. The coast district and the belt of islands girding the coast up to North Cape. II. The deep fjords of the Arctic Ocean and the adjacent river basins in East Finmarken. III. The interior plateaux of Finmarken, or Lapland proper. I. T is a well-known fact, which moreover impresses itself upon every naturalist, 4 ur 'i, n g m ' s passage north along the coast of Norway, "that the" number of species of birds decreases t;o sftf. 'e'xtraordirte'ry, extent towards the north," while-' 'Oft 'the 'other hand the number of individuals increases so considerably, that hardly anywhere else in our continent do we see bird-life more richly displayed, than just when we stand on the furthest point of North Europe facing the Arctic Ocean. It is especially in the great colonies, "The Bird Rocks," where this swarming bird-life exists. Such bird rocks make their appearance at intervals along the whole of the coast of Norway from Stavanger, off and on, up to Varangerfjord and the Russian frontier, exactly as we know them on the coasts of Scotland and of the Faroe Isles. But while the bird-rocks of these districts, the west-European on the one side, and the Norwegian on the other, have of course, most of their breeding species in common, as for instance the Guillemot and Razorbill, the Puffin, the Cormorant and Shag, besides some gulls, especially the Kittiwake (or " Three-toed Gull," Rissa tridactyla): it is remarkable that the Norwegian bird-rocks wholly lack several species, which form to some extent their chief occupants in the west-European district. This is not only the case with the more pelagic species, which belong to the more open parts of the Atlantic, as for instance the two Petrels (Procellaria pelagica, and P. leucorrhoa), the Gannet (Sula bassana), and the characteristic Shearwaters (Puffinus anglorum and P. major), which certainly occur occasionally on the Nor- wegian coast, but never breed there, although several of them dwell as near us as the Faroes ; but also applies to wholly arctic forms, such as the Fulmar Petrel (Fulmarus glacialis), which like- wise breed in multitudes on the Faroes and right down to St. Kilda, but never nest on the coast of Norway. And just as the northern point of Norway forms the northern- most breeding-place for the Razor-bill (Alca torda), so there are found inversely in Spitzbergen and the large archipelagoes in the Arctic ocean, certain extreme-northern species, which never breed so far south as Norway. This applies to a species of Tystie Mandt's Guillemot, (Uvia mandti), Brunnich's Guillemot (Lomvia bmtnnichi)^ f.hte^-ti-ttl'e Auk (Mevgulus alle), the white- winged Gulls (Lams glaitciis^ L,. leucoptems and Pagophila ebuvnea), and others 1 .,' v \ t ' ' The question occurs to us, where do these enormous hosts of Little Auks, Brunnich's Guillemots, and arctic Gulls pass the winter ? In hosts, whose numbers we can form no conception of, they breed on Spitzbergen and the islands in the north of Franz-Joseph land, as far towards the North Pole as human eyes have reached. It cannot be said that they take up their quarters during the winter on the shores of north or west Europe. No doubt our shores are visited in the winter by a certain number of Little Auks, to which may be added stray flocks of Glaucous Gulls (Lavus glaucus) and King- Eiders (Somatena spectabilis), or a solitary Ivory Gull (Pagophila ebuvnea) or Brunnich's Guillemot ; but the Spitzbergen Tystie or Mandt's Guillemot (Uvia mandti) is quite unknown on the European coasts. Here therefore is not their winter home. When the polar night with its darkness of some months' duration broods over the Arctic archipelagoes, there are not many birds which are able to sustain life there. The Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca), the Spitzbergen Ptarmigan (Lagopus hyperboreus), and perhaps one or two other species, do so ; but the sea-birds forsake their nesting places, disappear out towards the open Arctic Ocean, and quest away where no human being has yet been able to follow them. To the north of the arctic circle the bird rocks are more requent, and larger, than they are further south. With greater or lesser interval they extend in an irregular series from the out- most extremities of the Lofotens Vaero and Rost, up along the coast of Tromso to Fuglo and Loppen ; thence they make their appearance to the eastward in Stappen near North Cape; in Svaerholtklubben in Porsanger ; and in several crags on the Varanger peninsula to Horno by Vardo ; and on the south side of Varangerfjord near the Russian frontier. What an inexhaustible field for observations, these bird rocks would be, if we could only pay longer visits to them. It is well-known that among the rock-fowl both the Razor-bill (Alca torda), and the common Guillemot (Lomvia troile)* lay their single, and in proportion to the size of the bird colossal egg, on a projecting ledge in the precipitous face of the cliff, either quite in the open, or under a projecting slab of stone. The Puffin (Fratercula arctica) on the contrary, digs with its sharp claws, a long horizontal passage in the soft stratum of earth on the slopes of the cliff, between the luxuriant clumps of Cochlearia (scurvy- grass) and other coast plants : showing a considerable difference in the choice of a nesting-place between two so closely allied forms. But the difference is even greater, if one looks at the young which issue from these eggs. The Razor-bill produces an almost entirely naked thing, which, when the mother is away from it, is obliged to balance itself, as best it can, upon the narrow ledge of cliff, exposed to the icy north wind, and frequently drenched by a snow squall or a cold rain. From the Puffin's egg, which lies some yard-and-a-half deep down in the close and sheltered tunnel, there comes a chick, clad in a downy covering so loose and fluffy, that it resembles a living ball of down, from which a beak and feet project. The reason for this difference between the young of the two species is hard to understand. It is one of the many unanswered questions, to which the economy of nature can give rise so abundantly. Where the space is scanty, the Razor-bills and Guillemots * These two birds are respectively known in Norwegian as the Broad- billed-, and the Pointed-billed-, Alke ; the latter is also called the Lomvi. Transl. sometimes lay, which the two species commonly do in company, their solitary egg so close to one another, that the sitting birds YOUNG RAZORBILL. nearly touch each other. When then, one of them leaves its egg,- it frequently rolls out of position on the hard rock floor, and it may often happen that two of them exchange places, and when there are as many as twenty birds sitting on the same shelf, it is not always possible for each individual bird to continue to sit upon its own egg. A certain degree of fellowship also prevails between neighbours from the fact that the male bird does not feel himself strictly bound to the one female alone. Of the numerous bird rocks, I will only in a few words, touch on a single one, which in several respects is extremely remarkable ; YOUNG PUFFIN. this is Svaerholtklubben, situated on a projecting point a littfle to the east of North Cape. The fact is that it is probably the biggest in Norway, perhaps in the whole world. Svaerholtklubben is inhabited almost exclusively by a single species, a little gull, namely the Kittiwake (or Three-toed Gull, Rissa tridactyla). When the tourist- or mail-steamer, full of passengers, approaches the steep cliff wall, whose height is about 900 feet, and whose breadth is considerably more, but where nevertheless, pretty well every available space of so much as a foot in size, is taken advantage of by the gulls, so that the whole wall seems white with the masses of birds resting on it, whilst at the same time "the air is darkened," as the saying is, by the swarms on the wing. A shot is generally fired from the ship to cause the birds perched on the rock to take wing, but so accus- tomed are they to this attention, that it is only an inconsiderable portion which can be prevailed on to rise. When King Oscar II. visited Finmarken in 1873 in a man of war, the ordinary salute was first tried, but without particular success ; then one of the corvette's large cannon opened its mouth ; it resounded on the mountain wall like a thunder clap, which drowned the noise pro- duced by the innumerable screaming throats, and then, says Professor Friis,* who was present, even the old individuals were forced to turn out. Each spring, about the middle of May, when the eggs are laid, the proprietor of the Klubbe takes as many of them as he can reach with a long pole from the foot of the mountain ; ropes are not employed here, as on the Faroe islands. The maximum clutch is three eggs to a nest ; the yield is about 5,000 eggs, some years not so many ; in others as much as double the number. These represent nearly 2,000 pairs of birds ; all the remaining portion of the mountain-wall remains untouched. But moreover it appears, that for every breeding pair (with entirely white head) the cliff is inhabited by perhaps eight to ten young individuals, recognizable by the black ring on the nape of the neck, which do not breed. In determining the total number we shall reach up to millions, and these masses are crowded together like white snow- flakes upon the narrow resting-places, and at the foot, of a single vertical, black area of comparatively insignificant extent. On what do these swarms live ? In greater or lesser com- panies, often in rows as straight as a line, train after train come in at fixed times of the day, passing from the sea or over the * Professor J. A. Friis is Professor of Lappish in Christiania University, a wd^known sportsman, and author of numerous interesting and valuable works. TrdnsL more open fjords towards their home, all crammed with food. This consists partly of fry of fish and their ova, especially of the Coal-fish, and partly of small crustaceans, which the sea-currents drive backwards and forwards, in enormous masses, both close to shore and out at sea. Among these are the little copepod Calanus finmarchicus, transparent as water ; this food they share with the Rudolphi's Rorqual (or " Coal-fish Whale," Balanopteva borealis), a species of whale of medium size, of which in some seasons (as in 1885), nearly 800 head are captured on the coast of Norway. Another crustacean occurring in large quantities, is the "Kril" (Euphausia inermis), a small species of Thysanopod, half-an-inch long, which also forms the chief food of the Blue Whale (Balanoptera sibbaldii), the largest of all now living (or probably of formerly existing) creatures, when this sea giant stands in under the Norwegian coast in the summer months. And the Blue Whale in turn must yield its life to the explosive harpoon-shell, whilst it lies on the surface of the water and gorges on these small crustaceans, which form its only food during its sojourn with us, and of which even up to ten barrels* have been found in the capacious stomach of some of the examples that have been captured. The Kittiwake builds its nest upon the narrow shelves on the steep cliff wall, where they hang like swallows' nests out over the breakers. In the course of years they become constantly larger, since they are extended and added to each year, so that at last they may reach a height of several feet. They are a tangled mass of straw (bents) and sea-weed, copiously saturated by the droppings of the birds and their young ; sometimes they are situated so low down, that the spray of the surf reaches them, but such things affect neither the young nor the sitting birds. In the winter the mountain remains deserted. The birds t which are often seen in whole clouds at sea, or under the land, engaged in fishing, never then sit on the Klubbe. In March they suddenly return, and occupy it all at once; at the end ot August, when all the young have taken to the water, they once more leave it. * A Norwegian Ttynde (= barrel) holds about 30 gallons (= 3.83 bushels). Transl. YOUNG KITTIWAKES. Besides the Kittiwake, there breed on Svaerholtklubben only a few stray Razorbills and Guillemots (Alca torda and Lomvia troile], some Tysties ( Una grylle), and the two kinds of Cormorant (Phala- crocorax caybo and Ph. gyaculus], but all these together are quite lost sight of among the countless gulls. High over these swarms of birds there commonly soar in majestic calm, a pair of Sea-eagles (Haliaetus albicilla}, which have placed their inaccessible nest up under the summit of the moun- tain. But the constant sight of the mighty pirate, who by merely making a swing with his wings can at any time possess himself of one of the young Kittiwakes from the open nests, has accustomed the denizens of the cliff to the danger, and they take little notice of him. Should, on the contrary, a Gyr-falcon (Hievo- falco gyvfalco) on its piratical expedition come too near the colony, the effect is quite different ; the exasperation of the inhabitants is aroused, and as it is not a member of the community, it is pursued with loud screams, so long as it remains in sight. Before we take leave of the bird-rocks and their residents, we will record an event of historic interest, which is connected with one of the most easterly of the bird-rocks of Finmarken, namely, Homo by Vardo. In the year 1848, there was shot here by a man still living, Herr L. Brodtkorb, a bird, which though it was not preserved for posterity, was yet so fully described by the gunner as to be immediately recognized by naturalists, and the remembrance of it also has been so faithfully preserved, that any mistake is hardly conceivable. Then, indeed, in all probability, was shot the last existing example of that remarkable bird, the Garefowl, or Great Auk (Alca impennis). As the author has already elsewhere* referred more fully to this occurrence, and as the Garefowl never seems to have been a constant inhabi- tant of the coast of Norway, we will not here detain ourselves longer with its history. We must briefly mention what species of birds may be con- sidered as the most characteristic in the belt of islands which gird the coast of Norway. * Mitth. d. Ornith. Vereines in Wien, 1884. IO Along the whole coast-line there occurs hardly a holm, or an island large enough to provide sufficient food to keep a couple of sheep during the summer, without its being also in- habited by a pair of Oyster-catchers (Hcematopus ostralegus), some Ringed Plovers (JEgiaiitis hiaticula), often also by the Turnstone (Stvepsilas interpres), and some small Gulls and Terns (Sterna macmra). If the island is bigger, and more covered with heather or grass, there may nearly always be found there, in addition, one or two pairs of Eider Duck, and a sprinkling of the larger species of Gull, especially Herring Gulls (Larus avgentatus). As we approach the larger bird-islands or egg-holms the bird-hosts are recognizable from a long distance. Upon these egg-holms is the home of the Eider. Every- where among the heather or in the scrub, the ducks are sitting close upon the five large yellowish-gray eggs, surrounded by the fluffy wall of down ; it is well-known that they often place their nests quite close to the houses of the human inhabitants, even under the door-steps, or the floor of the kitchen. The Eider is often the islanders' only domestic fowl ; through the whole summer the broods lie scattered along the shore-edge, and the little brown-black ducklings dive gallantly into the surf after mussels, and other small creatures, and they also eagerly search for the fish-offal that is thrown away. Complete harmony prevails mutually between the families ; if the young get separ- ated from their mother, they attach themselves to the nearest duck that they meet with, and one sees not unfrequently a duck in this way at the head of a row of over twenty small ducklings, which follow her like a string of beads on the surface of the water. The Greater Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus), the Grey- Lag Goose (Anser cinereus), and the Arctic or Richardson's Skua (Steycorarius crepidatus) are also among the most frequent of the inhabitants of the egg-holm. And upon the largest of them, where the protection is strict, it not unfrequently happens that quite strange species settle themselves down to nest. Thus on B in Lofoten there have bred for many years a pair of Barnacle Geese (Bevnicla leucopsis), a bird which nests nowhere else in the country. II The nearest relation of the last-named species is the Brent (Bernicla brent a). This goose never nests on the continent of Europe, although the young birds now and then spend the summer with us, and it is a well-known visitor to the country at migration times. In the spring Brent Geese push in under the Naze (Lindesnaes) on a fixed day, towards the end of May, in large skeins, and more follow on the succeeding days ; in rows as straight as a line they sweep compactly over the surface of the sea along the whole coast until they reach the outermost north-westerly skerries. Then the crowds sweep further afield, so as to fetch their nesting- places in Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya ; and the sealers and Arctic travellers who have stood upon the northern point of Spitzbergen have seen them wandering yet further over the snowy sea, seeking still more northerly archipelagoes, which as yet no human being has trodden. Tromso offers a good opportunity for observing bird-life as it exists on the islands which fringe the Arctic coast, being one of the lower and more thickly inhabited of them, situated nearly in the yoth deg., N. Lat., and bearing Finmarken's capital city of the same name. In that town there exists a veritable Arctic Museum, whose industrious scientists have for fifteen years pub- lished their "Tromso Museum's Annual," the most northerly scientific journal in the world. This pretty little island, which extends like a green knoll within a circle of snow-clad mountains, is thickly over-grown with birch-wood, alternating with tracts of marsh and some cultivated fields. Although the former richly varied animal, life has of late years somewhat decreased on account of the in. creased area under cultivation, still a stroll along the gardens,"' with which nearly every house outside the town is provided, and in the surrounding birch-groves, will in a short time make us acquainted with several very characteristic birds, which have their place of summer resort here. * Where in particular the stately Heracleum panacesw\\h its unusual luxuriance excites the traveller's admiration. 12 Everywhere is to be heard the wild cry of the Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris), that bird so characteristic of our sub-alpine regions, which nests everywhere, particularly in the coast dis- tricts, in large colonies ; nor is it anywhere wanting in the thick birch woods, which as a rule clothe the sides of all the moun- tains in the Arctic district. Here are found nest after nest, more or less close to each other, but never more than one on each tree ; where trees are wanting, or where the birds are undisturbed, they take up their quarters upon the verandahs of the houses, and during the nesting season, are somewhat obtrusive with their shrieking and noise. In each colony of this kind there are generally found estab- lished one or two pairs of Redwings (Tuvdus iliacus), which are even more obtrusive than their larger cousins. Other small birds also commonly settle down in the midst of the colony, because they well know, that the stout-hearted thrushes will keep all sorts of robbers away, or, at any rate, give them timely notice of the danger. In every meadow we commonly find a pair of Blue-headed Yellow Wagtails (Motacilla flava). This delicately made bird, with its lemon-coloured belly, a near relation of our common White Wagtail (M. alba) inhabits in Norway almost exclusively the higher-lying regions, such as the Saeter (= mountain dairy) in- closures in the southern high Fjelds, or grassy-bottomed spots in the arctic parts. In this northern race the hood of the male is dark blue-gray or nearly gray-black (M. cinereocapilla, Savi), whilst in the typical form in the lowlands of mid-Europe, it is ash-coloured with greenish intermixture. From the thickets in the gardens, and from the willow bushes in the moister places, may be heard the best songster of the arctic district, the Blue-throated Warbler (Cyanecula siiecica), delivering its weak but harmonious song ; certain notes in which remind one of the sound of a distant bell, and the peasants call it therefore in several places the Little-bell bird. In Norway it is entirely Alpine in its habitat, and never breeds in the low- lands. Another remarkable songster, which inhabits the willow 13 thickets of Tromso in very large numbers, is the Sedge-warbler 1 (Acrocephalus phragmitis), the only species of its genus, which occurs in Norway. And with us it inhabits almost exclusively the regions north of the arctic circle, whilst everywhere else in Europe it is common in all lowland reed beds. Like most of the genuine migrants of the order Passeres, the small birds above alluded to, do not reach these their northern resting-places across the southern parts of Norway, but by the eastern route, across Russia and the Baltic provinces. One con- sequence of this is, that several species which appear frequently in Finmarken, such as the Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervimis), and the Siberian Willow- Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis), are either not met with at all during migration in the southern parts of the country, or appear there only occasionally and accidentally. Particularly numerous in the birch-woods of Tromso are the Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla), and the Mealy Redpoll (Linota linavia] ; and the males, ubiquitous and irrepressible, are to be heard in the early summer practising their best arts of song, although the long, harsh call-note of the first mentioned, the only one which it is capable of producing, hardly deserves the name of song. But of all the numerous bird-voices, which meet us as we ramble on a spring day through the still leafless groves of Tromso, there is none more surprising, than the guffaw of the male Willow Grouse (Lagopus albus). This vivacious bird, newly arrayed in its handsomest spring plumage, with the dark chestnut-brown head and neck contrasting sharply with the remainder of the still snow- white dress, never omits to croak, when it settles, after being flushed. Its voice is curious, and indescribable, and is a charac- teristic feature seldom lacking in the life of our mountain birch- woods. A fortnight later the hen lays her eggs among the heather or under a birch bush, often close by the frequented roads of the island, or even within the garden or enclosure of the villas. But she lies untouched and safe ; her brown-speckled back matches * It may be worth noting, to avoid any chance of confusion, that the Norwegian name is Rorsanger, which means literally Reed-warbler; a species which does not occur so far to the north as even the south of Norway. IransL H the surroundings so perfectly that it is almost impossible to be certain at the distance of a few paces, whether one still knows exactly where she is. Upon the open bogs there breed a motley collection of arctic or sub-alpine birds, mingled with coast forms and more southern species. Here occur the Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cevvinus), the Common Snipe (Gallinago ccelestis), the Great Snipe (G. major), Temminck's Stint (Tringa temmincki), Curlew and Whimbrel, several Sandpipers (Totanus glareola, T. canescens, and T. calidris), the Red-necked Phalarope* (Phalaropus hyperboreus), and various Abroad-billed" or "gray" Ducks (Anas, Mareca, Dafila, S*c.). And among the common European small-bird fauna, we shall also find various true songsters resident here, as the Redstart (Ruticilla phcenicurus), Hedge-sparrow (Accentor modulans), the two Fly-catchers, the White Wagtail, and many others. The White Wagtail follows mankind right up to the most northerly point of the land inhabited the fishing-station on Gjaesvaer by North Cape. Hither come, as more or less accidental visitants, the Starling, the Swallow, the Sky-Lark, the Woodcock, the Land- rail, and also the Quail, besides several others. In the winter the birch woods of Tromso remain nearly deserted, and at that time, besides the Willow Grouse, one meets with only an occasional Scandinavian- or Northern-Marsh Tit (Pants borealis), and the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendro- copits minor), some Yellowhammers, Mealy Redpolls, Bullfinches, a solitary Tree-creeper (Certhia familiaris), some Golden-crested Wrens (Regulus cnstatus), and also rarely the Longtailed Tit (Acredula caudata), this last being of course the type-race with the entirely white heads the only form which occurs in Norway. (The young in nestling plumage have, however, dark eye-stripes.) Lastly, we must mention among the stationary species, the three well-known relations the Magpie, the Hooded Crow, and the Raven. All these go up as far to the north as men and food are to be found, and the Magpie builds its large nest on the faggot-piles by the houses even on Gjaesvaer, directly by the * Norwegian, Sv A. BREEDING SPECIES. 1. Regular (Normal) Breeders (190 Species). Family TURDID^E Subfamily TURDIN^E Missel-Thrush. Turdusviscivorus.L'mn. Song-Thrush. Turdus musicus. Linn. Redwing. Turdus iliacns, Linn. Fieldfare. Turdus pilaris, Linn. Blackbird. Turdus merula, Linn. Ring-Ouzel. Turdus torquatus, Linn. Wheatear. Sascicola anantke, (Linn.) Whinchat. Pratincola rubetra,(L\nn.") Redstart. Ruticillaph cp.nicurus ( Linn . ) Red-spotted Bluethroat. Cyanecula suecica, (Linn.) Redbreast. Erithacus rubecula, (Linn.) Subfamily SYLVIIN^E \Vhitethroat. Sylvia cinerea, Bechst. Lesser Whitethroat. Sylvia curruca, (Linn.) Blackcap. Sylvia atricapilla, (Linn.) Subfamily SYLVIIN^E continued Garden Warbler. Sylvia hortensis, Bechst. Goldcrest. Regulus cristatm, Koch. Chiffchaff. Phylloscopusrufus, (Bechst.) Willow- Warbler. Pkylloscopus trochilus, (Linn.) Siberian Willow- Warbler. Phylloscopu* boreahs, (Blasius.) Icterine Warbler. Hypolais icterina, (Vieill.) Sedge-Warbler. Acrocephalus pltrag- mitis, (Bechst.) Subfamily ACCENTOEIN^: Hedge-sparrow. Accentor modular}*, (Linn.) Family CINCLID^E Dipper. Cinclus aquaticus, Bechst. IV A. BREEDING SPECIES. 1. Regular (Normal) Breeders (190 Species) continued Family PARID2E White-headed Long-tailed Titmouse. Acredula caudata, (Linn.) Great Titmouse. Parus major, Linn. Continental Coal Titmouse. Parus ater, Linn. Marsh-Titmouse. Parus palustris, Linn. Northern Marsh-Tit. Parus borealis, De Selys. Lapland Tit. Parus cinctus, Bodd. Blue Titmouse. Parus ccerulcus, Linn. Crested Titmouse. Parus cristatus, Linn. Family SITTIDJS Northern Nuthatch. Sitta europcea, Linn. Family TROGLODYTIDJE Wren. Troglodytes parvulus, Koch. Family MOTACILLID^E White Wagtail. Motacilla alba, Linn. Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail. Motacilla flava, Linn. Meadow- Pipit. Anthus pratensis, (Linn.) Red-throated Pipit. Anthus cervinus, (Pall.) Tree-Pipit. Anthus trivialis, (Linn.) Rock-Pipit. Anthus obscurus, (Lath.) Family LANIID^ Great Grey Shrike. Lanius excubitor, Linn. Red-backed Shrike. Linn. Lanius collurio. Family AMPELID^ Waxwing. Ampelis garrulus, Linn. Family MUSCICAPID^ Spotted Fly catcher. Muscicapa grisola, Linn. Pied Flycatcher. Muscicapa atricapilla, Linn. Family HIRUNDINID.E Swallow. Hirundo rustica, Linn. Martin. Clielidon urbica, (Linn.) Sand- Martin. Cotile riparia, (Linn.) Family CERTHIID^ Tree-creeper. Certhiafamiliaris, Linn. Family FRINGILLID^ Goldfinch. Carduelis elegans, Steph. Siskin. Chrysomitris spinus, Gould. Greenfinch. Liyurinus chloris, Gould. House-Sparrow. Passer domesticus, (Linn.) Tree-Sparrow. Passer montanus,(Liuii). Chaffinch. Fringilla ccelebs, Linn. Brambling. Frinffilla montif ring ilia. Linn. Linnet. Linota cannabina, (Linn.) Mealy Redpoll. Linota linaria, (Linn.) Twite. Linota flavirostris, (Linn.) Subfamily Northern Bullfinch. Pyrrhula major, Brehm. Pine Grosbeak. Pinicola enucleator, (Linn.) Parrot Crossbill. Loxia pityopsittacus, Bechst. Crossbill. Loxia curvirostra, Linn. Subfamily EMBERIZIN^: Corn-Bunting. Enibcriza miliaria, Linn. Yellow Hammer. Eniberiza citrinella, Linn. Ortolan Bunting. Emberiza hortulana, Linn. Reed- Bunting. Emberiza scliceniclus, Linn, Lapland Bunting. Calcarius lapponicus, (Linn.) Snow- Bun ting. Plectrophanes nivalis, (Linn.) Family STURNID^E Starling. Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. Family Nutcracker. Nucifraga caryocatactcs, (Linn.) Siberian Jay. Perisoreus infauxtus, (Linn.) Jay. Garrnlus glandarius, (Linn.) Magpie. Pica rustica, (Seep.) Jackdaw. Corvus monedula, Liun. Hooded Crow. Corvus comix, Linn. Rook. Corvus frugilegus, Linn. Raven. Corvus cor ax, Linn. A. BREEDING SPECIES. I. Regular (Normal) Breeders (190 Species) continued Family ALAUDLELE Sky-Lark. Alauda arvensi*, Linn. Wood-Lark. Alauda arborea, Linn. Shore-Lark. Otucorys alpestris, (Linn. Swift. Family CYPSELIM] Cypselus apus, (Linn.) Fam. CAPRIMULGID.E Nightjar. Caprimulgvs europceua, Linn Family PICID.E Subfamily Great Black Woodpecker. Picus martins, Linn. Great Spotted Woodpecker. Dendro- copus major, (Linn.) White-backed Woodpecker. Dendro- copus Itiuconotns, Bechst. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Dendro- copus minor, (Linn.) Three-toed Woodpecker. Picoides tridactylus, (Linn.) Green Woodpecker. Geeinus viridis, (Linn.) Grey-headed Green Woodpecker. Geeinus canits, (Guiel.) Subfamily Wryneck. lynx torquilla, Linn. Family CUCULID^E Cuckoo. Ouculns canorus, Linn. Family ASIONID^ Long-eared Owl. Asio otus, (Linn.) Short-eared Owl. Asio brachyotus, (Forster.) Tawny Owl. Syrnium aluco, (Linn.) Ural Owl. Syrnium uralense, (Pall.) Lapp Owl. Syrnium lapponicum., (Sparrm.) Snowy Owl. Nyctea scandiaca, (Linn.) European Hawk-Owl. Surnia ulula, (Linn.) Tengmalm's Owl. Nyctala tengmalmi, (Gmel.) Eagle Owl. Bubo ignavus, Newton. Pygmy Owl. Glaucidium passerinum, (Linn.) Family FALCONID^E Buzzard. Buteo vulgaris, Leach. Rough-legged Buzzard. Archibuteo lagopus, (Gmel.) Family FALCONID^l continued Golden Eagle. Aquila chrysaetus, (Linn.) White-tailed Eagle. Haliaetus albicilla, (Linn.) Gos-Hawk. Asiur palumbarius, (Linn.) Sparrow-Hawk. Accipiter nisvs, (Linn.) Gyr Falcon. Hierofalco gyrfalco,(L\^n.} Peregrine Falcon. Falco peregrinus, Tun stall. Hobby. Falco subbuteo, Linn. Merlin. Falco aasalon, Tunstall. Kestrel. Tinnunculus alaudarixs, (Gmel.) Osprey. Pandion haliaetus, (Linn.) Family PELECANID^ Cormorant. Phalacrocorax carlo, (Linn.) Shag. Phalacrocorax graculus, (Linn.) Family ARDEID^ Heron. Ardca cinerea, Linn. Family ANATID.E Gray Lag Goose. Anser cinereus, Me)'er. Bean-Goose. Anser segetum, (Gmel.) Lesser White-fronted Goose. Anse.r erythropus, (Linn.) Whooper Swan. Cygnus tnusicus, Bechst. Common Sheldrake. Tadorna cornuta. (Gmel.) Wigeon. Mareca pcnelopc, (Linn.) Pintail. Dafila acufa, (Linn.) Wild Duck. Anas boscas, Linn. Common Teal. Querquedula crecca, (Linn.) Tufted Duck, Faligula cristata, (Leach.) Scaup. Fulignln marila, (Linn.) Goldeneve. Clangula fjlaucion, (Linn.) Long-tailed Duck'. Harclda glacialix, (Linn.) Eider Duck. Somateria molliss'una, (Linn.) Common Scoter. (Edcmia nigra, (Linn.) Velvet Scoter. (Edemia fusca. (Linn.) Goosander. Mergus merganser. Linn. Red-breasted Merganser. Mergus serra- tor. Linn. VI A. BEEEDING SPECIES. 1. Regular (Normal) Breeders (190 Species) continued Family COLUMBID^ Ring-Dove. Columba palumbus, Linn. Stock- Dove. Columba, aenas. Linn. Family PHASIANID^] Partridge. Perdix cinerea, Lath. Quail. Coturnix communis, Bonnat. Family TETRAONID.E Ptarmigan. Lagopu* mutus, (Montiu.) Willow Grouse. Lagopns albus, (Guiel.) Hazel Grouse. Sonasa betvlirta-, (Scop.) Black Grouse. Tetrao tetrix, Linn. Capercaillie. Tetrao urogallus, Linn. Family RALLID^E Water-Rail. Rallus aquations, Linn. Spotted Crake. Porzana maruetta, (Leach.) Corn-Crake. Crex pratensis, Bechst. Moor-hen. Gallinula chloropus, (Linn.) Crane. Family GRUID^E Grus communu. Bechst. Family CHARADRIIDJS Golden Plover. Charadrius pluvialis, Linn. Little Ringed Plover. (Egialitu curo- nica, (Gmel.) Ringed Plover. (Egialitis liiaticula, (Linn.) Dotterel. Eiidromiasmorinellus, (Linn.) Lapwing. Vanellus vulgaris, Bechst. Turnstone. Strepsilas interpret, (Linn.) Oyster-catcher. Hcematopus ostralegus, Linn. Family SCOLOPACID^B Red-necked Phalarope. Phalaropus Jtypcrboreus, (Ijinu.) Woodcock. Scolopax rusticula, Linn. Great Snipe. Gallinago major, (Gmel.) Common Snipe. Gallinago ceelestis, (Frenzel) Jack Snipe. X/hnnoaryptes gallinula, (Linn.) Broad-billed Sandpiper. Limicola platy- rhyncha, (Temm.) Dunlin. Tringa alpina, Linn. Temminck's Stint. Tringa temmineki, Leisl. Family SCOLOPACID^] continued Purple Sandpiper. Tringa striata, Linn. Ruff. Machetes puqnax, (Linn.) Common Sandpiper. Tringoides hypo- leucus (Linn.) Green Sandpiper. Helodromas ochropus, (Linn.) Wood-Sandpiper. Totanus ylareola, (Gmel.) Redshank. Totanus calidris, (Linn.) Spotted Redshank. Totanus fmcus, (Linn.) Greenshank. Totanus cancscens, (Gmel.) Bar-tailed God wit. Limosa lapponica, (Linn.) Whimbrel. Numeniusphceopus,(L\vn.) Curlew. JNunu-nius arquata, (Linn.) Family Subfamily Arctic Tern. Sterna macrura. Naum. Common Tern. Sterna jiuviatiUs. Naum. Subfamily LARIN^E Kittiwake. Risrn tridactyla, (Linn.) Herring-Gull. Larus argentatus, Gmel. Lesser Black-backed Gull. Larus fus- cus. Linn. Common Gull. Larus canus, Linn. Greater Black-backed Gull. Larus marinus, Linn. Subfamily STERCORARIINJ3 Richardson's Skua. Stercorarius orepi- datus, (Gmel.) Buff on 's Skua. Stercorarius parasitivus, (Linn.) Family COLYMBID^ Black -throated Diver. Colymbus arcti- cus, Linn. Red-throated Diver. Colymbus septen- trionalis, Linn. Family PODICIPIDJE Sclavonian Grebe. Podiceps auritus, (Linn.) Family ALCID^E Razorbill. Alca torda, Linn. Common Guillemot. Lomvia troile, (Linn.) Black Guillemot. Uria grylle, (Linn.) Puffin. Fratercula arctica, (Linn.) Vll A. BEEEDING SPECIES. 1. Regular (Normal) Breeders (190 Species) continued. Among these 190 species of " Normal Breeders," the particular breeding places of three species are still unknown, namely, of Limnocryptes gallinula, Totanus fuscus, and Limosa lapponica. Two species breed in so limited numbers, that they might with almost equal propriety have been classed under " Rare breeders," namely, Ember iza milizria and Corvus frugilegus. It must also be noted, that, by Motacilla flava is understood both the type race (which breeds extremely sparingly in Norway) and the North European form '31. vir id-is ^ Gmel. 2. Rare Breeders (7 .Species). Family TURDIDJS Subfamily SYLVIIN^J Wood- Warbler. Pkylloscopus sibilatritt, (Bechst.) Family MOTACILLID.E Pied Wagtail. Motacilla lugubris, Temm. Family FALCONID.E Hen-Harrier. Circus cyaneus, (Linn.) Kite. Milvus ictimis, Savigny. Family RALLID^E Coot. Fulica atra, Linn. Family CHARADRIID.E Kentish Plover. (Egialitis cantiana, (Lath.) Family SCOLOPACID^ Little Stint. Tringa minuta, Leisl. 3. Uncertain Breeders (15 Species). Family TURDIDJE Subfamily SYLVIIN^E Grasshopper Warbler. Locustellancevia, (Bodd.) Family FRINGILLED.E Hawfinch. Coccothraustes vulgar is, Pall. Subfamily White- winged Crossbill. tera, Ginel. Loxia leucop- Family ALCEDINID^ Kingfisher. Alcedo isyida, Linn. Hoopoe. Family UPUPID^ Upupa epops, Linn. Family ANATID^ Barnacle Goose. Bernicla leucopsis, (Bechst.) Garganey. Qtierquedula drcia, (Linn.) Family ANATID^E continued Shoveller. Spatula clypcata, (Linn.) Family COLUMBID^S Rock-Dove. Columba livia, Bonat. Turtle Dove. Turtur communis, Selby. Family Subfamily Black-headed Gull. Larus ridlbuhdus, Linn. Family COLYMBIDJ3 Ureat Northern Diver. Colymbus glaci- alis, Linn. Family PODICIPID^ Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps crista- tus (Linn.) Red-necked Grebe. Podiceps griseiqena, (Bodd.) Little Grebe. Tacliybaptes fluviatilis, (Tunstall.) All these " Uncertain Breeders " make their appearance only sparingly, generally during the autumnal migration, or in the winter ; a few only in summer. Locvstclla ncevia has only been found in the country on two occasions, on the latter of which it was probably breeding. Columba livia is probably now exterminated from the fauna of the country. Vlll B. NON-BEEEDING VISITOES. Family PELECANID^ Gannet. Sula bassana, (Linn.) 1. Annual (Normal) Visitors (12 Species). Family SCOLOPACID^ Curlew Sandpiper. Tringa subarquata , (Giild.) Knot. Tringa canutus. Linn. Sanderling. Calidris arcnaria. (Linn.) Family ANATID^E White-fronted Goose. Anser albifrons, (Scop.) Brent Goose. Bernicla brenta, (Pall.) Stellers Duck. Heniconetta stelleri, (Pall.) King Eider. Somateria spectabilis. (Linn.) Family CHARADRIID^E Grey Plover. Squatarola Jielvetica, (Linn.) Family LARID^E Subfamily LAB.IN.E Glaucous Gull. Larus glaucus, Fabr. Family PROCELLARIID^ Fulmar. Fulmarus glacialis. (Linn.) Family ALCIDJE Little Auk. Mergulus alle, (Linn.) To these "Annual Visitors" may be added the easterly form of Nucifraga caryocatactes (forma maerorliynclnis, Brehm). Two of the above named species, Somateria, spectabilis, and Larus glaucus, should possibly be classed under the " Uncertain breeders." 2. Rare Visitors (12 Species). Family CICONITD^ White Stork. Cieonia alba, Bechst. Family AN ATI D^ Pink- footed Goose. Anser brachy- rhynchus, Baill. Bewick's Swan. Cygnus bervicM, Yarr. Pochard. Fuligula ferma (Linn.) Family SCOLOPACID^ Grey Phalarope. Phalar opus fulicar ins. (Linn.) Family Subfamily STERNINJE Black Tern. Hydroclielidon nigra, (Linn). Subfamily LARINJE Ivory Gull. Pagophila eburnea, (Phipps) Iceland Gull. Larus leucopterus. Faber. Subfamily STERCOBAHIIN^E Pomatorhine Skua. Stercorarim poma- torkinus, (Gould) Family PROCELLARIID^ Storm- Petrel. Procellaria pelagica. Linn. Manx Shearwater. Puffinus anglorum, (Temm.) Family Brunnich's Guillemot. Lomvia bruen- nicM, (Sabine) 3. Meteoric Visitor (1 Species.) Family PTEROCLID^. Pallas's Sand-Grouse. Syrrhaptes paradoxus, (Pall). IX Purple Heron. Ardea p urpu rea. Linn. Little Bittern. Ardctta minuta, (Linn.) Bittern. Botaurus stellaris, (Linn.) Family CICONIID^E Black Stork. Ciconia niyra, (Linn.) B. NON-BBEEDING VISITOES. 4. Accidental Visitors (41 Species.) Family TURDIDJE Family Subfamily TUBBING Dusky Thrush. Turdus fuscatm, Pall. Black-throated Thrush. Turdus atri- gularis, Temm. White's Thrush. Turdus varius, Pall. Stonechat. Pratlncola rubicola, (Linn.) Black Redstart. Ruticillv tif-ys, (Scop.) Family MOTACILLID^E Grey Wagtail. Motacillamelanope, Pall. Yellow Wagtail. JMotacilla rail, ( Bp.) Richard's Pipit. Anthus ricJiardi, Vieill. Family ORIOLID^ Golden Oriole. Oriolus galbula, Linn. Family FRINGILLID^ Subfamily LOXIIN^: Rosy Bullfinch. Carpodacus erythrinus, (Pall.) Family STURNID^ Rose-coloured Pastor. Pastor roscus, (Linn.) Family CORVID^ Carrion- Crow. Corvus cor one, Linn. Family ALAUDID^ Crested Lark. Alauda cristata, Linn. Family CORACIID^ Roller. Caracias garrula, Linn.' Family FALCONID^ Marsh-Harrier. Circus ceruginosus, (Linn.) Pallid Harrier. Circus swainsoni. Smith. * Greenland Falcon. Hierofalco islandus, (Gmel.) * Iceland Falcon. Hierofalco rusti- colus, (Fabr.) Family PL AT AL Spoonbill. Platalaa leucorodia, Linn. Glossy Ibis. PlegaAis falcinellus (Linn.) Family ANATID^E Snow-Goose. Clien hylerboreus, (Pall.) Mute Swan. Cygnus olor, (Gmel.) Ruddy Sheldrake. Tadorna, easarva, (Linn.) Gadwall. Chaulelasmus strcperus, (Linn.) Barrow's Goldeneye. Clangulaislandica, (Gmel.) Smew. Mergus albellus. Linn. Family Little Bustard. Otis tetrax, Linu. Family GLAREOLIDJ3 Nordmann's Pratincole. Glarcola melanoptera, Nordm. Family SCOLOPACID^ Avocet. Recurvirostra avocetta, Linn. Family Subfamily STERNIN^E Sandwich Tern. Sterna cantiaca, Gmel. Subfamily LARINJB Little Gull. Larus minutus, Pall. Sabine's Gull. Xema sabinii, (Sabine) See next page. B. -NON-BREEDING VISITORS. 4. Accidental Visitors (41 Species) continued. Family LARIDJ3 Subfamily STERCORARIIN^E Common Skua. Stercorarius catarr- hactes, (Linn.) Family PROCELLAR1ID.E Leach's Petrel. Procelleria leucorrkoa, Vieill. Greater Shearwater. Puffinus major, Faber. Family COLYMBID.E Yellow-billed Diver. Colynibus adamsi. Gray. Family PODICIPLlhE Eared Grebe. Podiceps. nigricoll'is, C. L. Brehm. Amongst the above enumerated forty-one " Accidental Visitors." are counted as distinct species, the Greenland Falcon,* Hierofalco islandus, and the Iceland Falcon, Hierofalco rusticolus* whose title to distinct specific rank is disputed. Tetrao tetrix Lagopus albus Lag opus albus C. HYBRIDS. Family TETRAONIDJS ? + Tetrao urogallus ? (" Rakkel-Hane, " male and female). $ (?) + Tetrao tetrix ? (?) (" Rype-Orre," male and female). $ + Tetrao urogallus ? ("Rype-Tiur/'male.) * This nomenclature for the Gyrfalcon (or - falcons) is best explained by a quotation from a former paper by Prof. Collett, entitled " Om 6 for Norges Fauna nye Fugle, fundne in 1887-1889 " (Christa. V'idensk. Sels. Fork., 18'JO, No. 4, p. 7) Transl. F. islandus, or the white Greenland falcon, which is most frequently referred to under Gmelin's later name of F. candieans, is known principally from Greenland, and the majority of examples preserved in the Museums come from there. It nests there in the more northern districts (north of the Arctic circle), but is tolerably frequent in South Greenland during the periods of migration and in the winter. In the southern parts of Greenland there also occurs, very numerously, the real Iceland Falcon, which was named by Gmelin in 1788, F. islandus, under which name it has hitherto been entered by most writers (including the present author in Nyt. Mag. f. Naturv., B. 26, p. 329). This form, which is regarded by most writers as a light climatic race of the North European F. gyrfalco, was as long ago as 1780 named by Fabricius in his Fauna Groenlandica, F. rusticolus (and its immature form, F.fuscvs), after the species described in 1766 under that name in Linmeus' Syst. Nat., ed. xii. Although Linnseus' description of F. rusticolus in the place quoted, may no doubt pass for the Iceland species, the prob- ability is somewhat lessened that he really had it before him, because he states as its habitat : "ex Suecia" a country, where the species can, at the present time, scarcely be said with safety to occur. It is therefore safest to date the name F. rusticolus for the Iceland species from Fabricius 1780, since that author unquestion- ably had just that species before his eyes (and likewise the white Greenland falcon for his description of F. islandus). 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