BIRDS. 81 



19. Empidonaz: flaviventris, Bd. 



Taken at sea off Cape Farewell, Greenland, September, 1878. This 

 is, I think, the first recorded instance of its occurrence in Greenland. 



20. Brachyotus palnstris, (Bechst.) Gould 



"Sutituk" (?), Greenlanders. 



Apparently rare. Found breeding in the Kingnite Fjord in the Penny 

 Peninsula ; also in the Greater Kingwah. Probably will be found more 

 common in the interior toward the southwest in Hall's Land, if it be the 

 species described to me by Eskimo from there. They say it nests under- 

 neath an overhanging shelf of rock on or near the ground. Appears to 

 be rare on the coast of Greenland. Is found as far north as 70° I^. lat. 



21. Nyctea scandiaca, (L.) Newt. 



"Opigjuak," Cumberland Eskimo. " Opik " aud " Opivksook," Greenlanders. 

 I was very much surprised not to find this owl more common. At the 

 Kikkerton Islands and uj) Kingnite FjOrd were the only localities where I 

 met it on the west coast. From Hudson's Straits to Nugumeute, in Hall's 

 Land, it is more common, probably on account of the greater abundance 

 of hares and ptarmigans in this region. It probably breeds on the 

 Hunde Islands in Disko Bay, and on the " islands" (the rocks projecting 

 through the glacier) in the glacier on the mainland, to the eastward of 

 Eittenbenck, Greenland. They are by no means strictly nocturnal. I 

 have seen them chasing i^tarmigan at midday in October, when the sun 

 was shining brightly. I have seen them coursing along the shore at low 

 tide, apparently yis/w»?</; but whether they were hunting for snipe or fish 

 I am unable to saj^, as they were so shy that I could not get within rifle 

 range of them. The primaries are highly prized by the Eskimo for their 

 arrows. These birds migrate to the southward about the same time as 

 the majority of the waterfowl. 



22. Falco candicans, Gm. 



" Kirksoveasuk," Greenlanders. 

 During the whole year's collecting on Cumberland Island I saw but 

 one single specimen, late in November, 1877. He was beset by a large 

 concourse of ravens that were teasing him, as the jays do hawks and 

 owls at home. According to the Cumberland Eskimo, they are very 

 rare, and seldom seen except in winter. Many do not know them at all. 

 On Disko Island, especially in the Godhavn district, they are coinmon 

 and resident. These hawks seem to prefer nesting in the vicinity of 

 " bird rocks," where they can procure plenty of birds with very little 

 Bull. Nat. Mus No. 15 G 



