52 Notes from Northern Iceland. 



whicli weighed^ respectively^ 10^ and 13 lb.) by noting the di- 

 rection in wliicli they dived and proceeding in it. Five times 

 out of ten you will be disappointed^ as the bird will alter its 

 course under water, or do something else unexpected. The 

 tenth, if you are very quick with your gun, you may get a 

 snap-shot before it dives again. Our morniug^s amusement 

 was only marred by a big trout choosing an inopportune 

 moment, when we were intently looking out for the I'e- 

 appearance of a submerged Diver^ to seize an angel-minnow 

 trailing behind the boat. Before the gun could be transferred 

 to the person who was rowing, and the rod taken in hand, the 

 reel-handle had caught in some stones at the boat's bottom, 

 there were two frantic jumps in the air, and we were minus 

 our hoped-for dinner and a certain quantity of tackle. 



Red-throated Diver. (Colymbus septentrionalis.) 

 Much less common than the foregoing. We saw the bird 



on one or two occasions, heard it oftener, and had several 



eggs brought in. 



Little Auk. {Mergulus alle.) 



Were not uncommon on Skagafjor^r, and we had eggs 

 brought in from Grimsey. 



Other birds, observed in more or less abundance, which 

 call for no remark, are : — Wheatear, White Wagtail, Meadow- 

 Pipit, Whimbrel, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Redshank, Snipe 

 (Common only). Red-necked Phalarope, Ringed Plover, 

 Geese, Harlequin and Eider Ducks, Goosander, Puffin, Razor- 

 bill, Black, Briinnich's, and Common Guillemots, Shag, 

 Gannet, Kittiwake, Glaucous Gull, Great Black-backed 

 Gull, Richardson's and Great Skuas, Fulmar, and Sclavonian 

 Grebe. 



Skins of the Coot and the Water- Rail were seen at Aku- 

 reyri : they were stated to have been killed on the Eyja- or 

 Q^^fjorSr, on which the town stands. 



