20 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF 



Family FRINGILLID.E. Genus Linoia. 



Sub-family FRINGILLIN^E. 



GREENLAND REDPOLE. 



LiNOTA LINARIA HORNEMANNI, TlolboU. 



(British : Rare abnormal winter migrant.) 

 Single Brooded. Laying season, June. 



Breeding area : North-east of Nearctic region, and 

 extreme north-west of Palaearctic region. The Green- 

 land Redpole breeds in Spitzbergen, Iceland, Greenland 

 (north of lat. 69°), and possibly in Canada. 



Breeding habits : But little has been recorded of 

 the nidification of this race of the Mealy Redpole, but 

 probably it differs little, if at all, from that of the pre- 

 ceding bird, due allowance being made for local con- 

 ditions. The nest so closely resembles that of the Mealy 

 Redpole that a detailed description is unnecessary, and 

 it appears to be made in precisely similar situations — in 

 stunted bushes, or even on the ground above the limits 

 of forest growth, in small trees in lower latitudes. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Greenland Redpole are five or six in 

 number. They range from bluish-green to greenish-blue 

 in ground colour, spotted and speckled with dark purplish- 

 bruwn, and with underlying markings of paler brown 

 and gray : a few streaks occasionally occur. The mark- 

 ings are often distributed in a zone round the larger end 

 of the ^g^^ and are almost invariably most numerous on 

 that portion. Average measurement, 75 inch in length 

 by "54 inch in breadth. Incubation, probably performed 

 by the female ; the duration of the period is unknown, 

 but is probably t!ie same as that of the allied races. 



Diagnostic characters: The eggs of the Green- 

 land Redpole are the largest of the three races of Red- 



