Letters, Annowicements , ^c. 373 



G. N. Dawnay.) The Golden Plover was, of course, nume- 

 rous ; hut I only succeeded in finding one lot of eggs. Ringed 

 Plovers were fairly common in suitahle places. I only saw 

 one Turnstone, and one or two pairs of Oystercatchers. 

 Redshanks and Purple Sandpipers were common ; and I found 

 a nest of the latter on high ground, containing three young 

 ones just hatched, and an egg on the point of hatching. All 

 these nests were found in July, we having arrived in Iceland 

 just at the end of June. I saw a single pair of the Grey 

 Phalarope as we steamed up the fiord to Bordeyei. On shore 

 Red-necked Phalaropes were very abundant ; but I could not 

 find a nest. Snipes were fairly common ; and their bleating, 

 which I heard for the first time, was incessant. When drum- 

 ming they seemed always to make the downward sweep to 

 the right. Is this always so, I Avonder ? Dunlins were in 

 extraordinary abundance, and they struck me as being very 

 small and grey in colour — the small race, no doubt. Their 

 habit of acting page to the Golden Plovers was well illustrated. 



The Whimbrel was in great numbers ; but I could not find 

 a nest either of this bird or the Redshank and Dunlin. We 

 found one Snipe's nest with eggs and a single young one just 

 hatched. We also saw some Ringed Plover just hatched, 

 and one or two young Whimbrels a few weeks old. Geese we 

 saw nothing of, as we did not go high enough up the hills, 

 but we saw several pairs and small parties of Hoopers, one 

 single bird allowing quite a near approach. 



I found a lot of Teal in an inland pool, where there was 

 plenty of covert ; and there were one or two broods in the 

 pools near the mouth of the Melstade river. These pools in 

 the low grounds were splendid places for birds. There were 

 as many as forty-one Wild Ducks in one flock there, besides 

 broods ; also Eiders, Pintails, Long-tailed Ducks, and Harle- 

 quin Ducks, all with young broods. We saw one small flock 

 of Harlequins, chiefly males. The croak of the female bird 

 is very harsh. We saw a few Scaups, and at least one Scoter. 

 Dawnay described one Duck which he .saw on the river as 

 black with white on the wing ; but it also had white on the 

 head; so I suppose it would not do for the Velvet Scoter. 



