196 Mr. H. J. Pearson on Birds 



of a Peregrine, It was placed ou a projecting ledge of the 

 cliff-face some forty feet above the sea, and was constructed 

 chiefly of sticks, which must have cost the birds some trouble 

 to collect, as nothing grows on this island capable of pro- 

 ducing a stick except a dwarf species of willow, and that 

 only at rare intervals. We took the three well-coloured 

 eggs after photographing them in situ, and shot the male 

 bird. It was well we secured the eggs then, for on visiting 

 the spot again two days later the whole piece of cliff on 

 which the nest was placed had fallen into the sea. 



The next time we met with this species was on July 18th 

 at Cape Matinsela, on the east coast of the island. The 

 nest was on the spur of the sandhills running out towards 

 the shore; it consisted of a little grass only, and con- 

 tained three young in down. The female was shot. On 

 August 10th we were fortunate in finding this bird breeding 

 on the cliffs of Silver Bay, Lutke Land, the first record of 

 it on the North Island. There were the two old birds and 

 four young ; two of the latter flew on our approach, and the 

 others remained sitting on a ledge of the slate rock com- 

 posing the cliff. The nest Avas placed in a recess of the 

 cliff, some 100 feet high at that part, Theel has struck this 

 bird out of his list for all three islands, but this is evidently 

 incorrect. While lying-to in a fog off Nameless Bay on 

 the west coast of Novaya Zemlya, I had written that, as we 

 found the bird both on Lutke Laud and Waigats, it would 

 probably be recorded from Novaya Zemlya ; and three hours 

 after we were able to complete the record of this bird for all 

 three islands, by finding a pair with young. They had bred 

 in a ravine cut through the slate rock 200 feet deep, and at 

 the bottom of which a river ran into the south side of 

 Nameless Bay. On further reference I find Pelzeln records 

 this bird from the South Island. 



12, Falco jESalon. 



A Merlin was seen near Habarova on July 17th, but unfor- 

 tunately we were unable to secure it. The remarks on the 

 extension of range of the White Wagtail apply to this species 



