Ornithological Notes of the Voyage of ' The Fox.' 165 



diving in the open lake with their parents. My series of eggs 

 of Sterna hybrida shows a decided tendency to pale green as the 

 ground-colour, and a type clearly distinguishable from that of 

 any other Tern, though somewhat approaching the character of 

 the eggs of Sterna leucoptera, which, however, are much smaller, 

 and only exceptionally of a greenish ground. The markings are 

 rarely so large as in the eggs of the Common Tern. A favourite 

 food with these Terns appeared to be a large hairy caterpillar 

 which covered the neighbouring marshes at this time in thou- 

 sands. They were also plunging into the Lake in quest of the 

 frogs and newts with which it' abounds. 



I had now thoroughly seai'ched the recesses of Halloula, but 

 in returning had to learn that there is " many a slip between the 

 cup and the lip,^^ for our punt grounded and discharged all 

 my loosely packed boxes into the mud. I saved, however, suffi- 

 cient to provide an ample series of those species which I had 

 taken in any plenty, and returned to Algiers without further in- 

 cident, laden with spoils such as do not often fall to the share of 

 a naturalist^s first sojourn in a new locality. I found that the 

 following year, owing to the success of the drainage, this para- 

 dise of Herons was almost deserted. By this time I fear that 

 the glories of Lake Halloula are among the things that were. 

 The plough will soon efface the traces of our Heronry, and the 

 Ibis and the Whiskered Tern will be numbered with the Ruffs 

 of Lincolnshire and the Great Copper Butterflies of Whittlesea, 



XIX. — Ornithological Notes of the Voyage of ' The Fox' in the 

 Arctic Seas. By David Walker, M.D., late Naturalist on 

 board ' The Fox.' 



The steam-yacht ' Pox,' equipped by Lady Franklin for the 

 final search after Sir John Franklin and his companions, left 

 Aberdeen on the 1st of July 1857. The different birds met 

 with on the passage across the Atlantic need not be mentioned. 

 As we approached Cape Farewell, the most southern point of 

 Greenland, numbers of the Greater Shear-water {Puffinus majoi-) 

 were seen. On coming closer to the coast, the Fulmar [Procel- 



