6i2 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



area free from snow, especially on maritime cliffs which 

 many species, e.g. guillemot, kittiwake, fulmar petrel, 

 usually make their home. These cliffs, being steeply sloped, 

 are naturally devoid of snow at a comparatively early date. 

 The birds which nest on the lower and flatter country usually 

 arrive somewhat later, as their breeding-grounds are still 

 snow-covered. Soon after the snow has left any area the plants 

 thus uncovered wake up from their long winter sleep. Shoots 

 are pushed rapidly, leaves appear, and finally flowers may be 

 seen, making gay spots which only a week previously were 

 snow-covered wastes. This does not apply to all the plants, 

 many of which require a longer time to attain the flowering 

 stage. The bird life, as evinced by breeding, reaches its 

 maximum development in June and July. On the other hand, 

 vegetable life, although well developed, is at its best, at any 

 rate as regards flowering and fruiting, in the latter half of July 

 and during August. In September the gales commence ; a fall 

 in temperature sets in ; the birds begin to seek more congenial 

 southern climes ; the plants with their ripened fruits dispersed, 

 or ready for dispersal, sink again into the dormant state in which 

 they pass the winter. 



The dominant type of animal life in Spitsbergen is without 

 doubt the birds. Although there are actually not very many 

 species — approximately twenty-five — yet they make up for 

 it in numbers, in activity, and in size. The snow-bunting, a 

 close ally of our common finches, is the only small bird. Of 

 the others, the majority — such as gulls, skuas, ducks, geese, 

 divers, etc. — are relatively large species. In addition to this, 

 the birds, with the exception of the snow-bunting and ptarmi- 

 gan, are either maritime or freshwater birds ; several are 

 waders. Many of the species are extremely interesting to 

 ornithologists for various reasons. The barnacle goose, for 

 instance, which only nests in Arctic regions and very locally, 

 chooses such inaccessible nesting-sites that its nest is only 

 found with difficulty. Indeed, the nests and eggs discovered 

 last year by the Oxford University Expedition were the first 

 ever taken by an Englishman. In other cases very little is 

 known of the nests. The ivory gull is a good example of this, 

 as its breeding-places have not yet been found. 



Another point is the so-called " Sexual Inversion." This 

 is found in the Phalaropes and probably in other waders. The 

 interest lies in the fact that the cock-bird carries out what 

 should be the work of the hen-bird. He incubates the eggs 

 and looks after the young, while the hen, which is usually 

 more gorgeously coloured, hunts for food and does the ordinary 

 work of the cock. 



The only three higher land animals in Spitsbergen are those 



