408 Capt. H. W. Feilden on the Birds observed 



of a small lake_, not far from the ship^ came upon an old bird 

 accompanied by three nestlings_, which they brought to me. 

 The old bird proved to be a male; its stomach, and those of 

 the young ones, were filled Avith insects. The following de- 

 scription of the newly hatched birds was taken down at the 

 time : — Iris black ; tip of mandibles dark brown, bill dark 

 olive ; toes black, soles of feet greenish yellow ; back of legs 

 the same ; underpart of throat satin-white ; back beautifully 

 mottled tortoise-shell. Dr. Coppinger informed me that this 

 bird was not uncommon at Thank-God Harbour during July. 

 In the first week of August, I saw family parties of Knots 

 at Shift-rudder Bay (lat. 81° 52' N.) ; they were then in the 

 grey autumn plumage. The Knot bred in the vicinity of 

 Discovery Bay ; but no eggs were found there, although the 

 young were obtained in all stages of plumage. 



11. Sterna macrura. Arctic Tern. 



Is not uncommon in Smith Sound, and we found it breeding 

 at several localities we visited on our way north . 1 1th August^ 

 1875, on Norman- Lockyer Island, I noticed several pairs, and 

 picked up a bleached egg, probably an addled one of a former 

 season. August 21st, we found eight or ten pairs breeding 

 on a small islet oflF the north end of Bellot Island (lat. 81° 44' 

 N.) : the land at this date was covered with snow ; and on the 

 islet it lay about three inches deep. In one nest I found a , 

 newly hatched Tern ; it seemed quite well and lively in its 

 snow cradle. The parent birds had evidently thrown the snow 

 out of the nest as it fell ; for it was surrounded by a border 

 of snow marked by the feet of the old birds, and raised at 

 least two inches above the general level. The Terns on this 

 islet were rather shy, none coming within range until I had 

 handled the young one. There seemed to be abundance of 

 fish in the pools between the floes, as the old birds were flying 

 with them in their mandibles. The stomach of the female 

 which I killed was empty ; but that of the nestling contained 

 remains offish. On the 16th June, 1876, three of these birds 

 appeared in the neighbourhood of the winter-quarters of the 

 ^ Alert.' By the end of June pairs of these birds were scat- 



