80 BIRDS OF ICELAND 



decidedly scarce in the Dorth. I have seen a good 

 many specimens of the bird. In the south-east it 

 breeds in some numbers, and Herra P. Nielsen of 

 Eyrarbakka (to whom I am indebted for a good deal 

 of information) found seventy nests in six years, the 

 number of eggs in each varying from seven to eleven. 

 It clearly lays two clutches of eggs in the season, as he 

 has found eggs as early as 29th May and as late as 

 10th September; but whether the second laying is in 

 consequence of loss of the first is a question, birds in 

 Iceland being rarely double-brooded. 



The eggs are light buff in colour, and sparsely 

 spotted, the colour of the surface spots being deep 

 ruddy brown, and of the deep spots grey brown. The 

 nest is placed amongst coarse sedge or other vegetation 

 in wet places, and is made of sedge leaves coiled round. 



Gallinula chloropus (Linn.). Waterhen. 



Native name : ' Vatnshpena,' which is merely a transla- 

 tion of the Danish ' Vandhone ' = ' Waterhen,' and 

 ' Poule d'eau.' Also called ' Sjohoena.' 



A very rare straggler, which is only known to have 

 occurred twice in Iceland. The first was killed in the 

 Vestmann Islands on April 4, 1882, and the skin was 

 preserved for Herra Grondal. The second came under 

 my own observation. While staying for a few days at 

 Hnausir in Hiinavatns Sysla, the farmer there brought 

 in a Waterhen's skin, requesting us to let him know 

 what it was. It had been caught in a half-starved 



