258 Mr. Wm. Eagle Clarke on the 



Dr. Nanseii found traces of Geese, and a Gooseys egg- 

 shell, on Mary Elizabeth Island on the 1st of June, 1896. 

 He also saw two Geese at Cape Fisher two days afterwards. 

 All these localities are in the southern portion of the archi- 

 pelago. 



These birds emigrated from Cape Flora about the 22iid 

 of September, 1881. Sir Clements Markham, quoting from 

 Mr. Leigh Smithes Journal, mentions that these Geese 

 began to arrive at Cape Flora in June, 1882, but that a 

 Goose or Duck was seen on the 12th of March of that year. 



[Mr. Wilton saw the first Brent Geese on the 10th of 

 June, 1897, and shot one of the two seen. I also saw a pair 

 on the same day. Brent Geese were seen again on the 13th 

 and 14th. Towards the end of July I saw four or five, and 

 Mr Wilton saw others. The West Ponds were their chief 

 resort.— W. S. B.] 



7. *S0MATERIA MOLLISSIMA (Linn.). 



Payer, op. cit. ii. p. 91 ; Neale, P. Z. S. 1882, pp. 653, 654 ; 

 Nansen, op. cit. ii. p. 438. 



There are two chicks, a few days old, in the collection. 

 These Mr. Bruce obtained at Cape Mary Harmsworth, on 

 the 7th of August, 1897. 



The Eider Duck does not seem to be widely distributed in 

 Franz Josef Land, though it appears to be not uncommon 

 in the south, to which area all our information refers. 

 Dr. Nansen only once mentions seeing it — namely, near 

 Cape Fisher, where a flock was observed on the 4th of June, 

 1896. Dr. Neale merely includes it in his list, and tells us 

 that it departed from Cape Flora in the autumn of 1881, ou 

 or about the 22nd of September. 



[We saw the Eider Duck on only two occasions near Cape 

 Flora — namely, on the 28th of August, 1896, when a single 

 bird was seen; and on the 15th of July, 1897, Mr. Wilton 

 saw one male and one female. 



At Cape Mary Harmsworth, on August 7th, 1897, I found 

 an Eider Duck^s nest with two young birds and an egg just 

 on the point of hatching. Later in the day Mr. Wilton 



