102 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARCTIC AMERICA. 



in CuniberlaiKl, Oil some small lock.v islands. WIm-m fresh these (hiik- 

 colored birds have u hrUjht oUve-grcen f/loss, esi)eeiall.v a))itareiit on the 

 neck and back. The bill is .shorter, stouter, and thicker, dusky brown 

 instead of jellow. On Blue Mountain, Ovifak, Greenland, these birds 

 breed by myriads to the very summit of the mountain, about 2,000 feet. 

 Here I could see hvt I'nr tlorh- birds; even the full-fledged nestlings were 

 white. 



lu Exeter Sound and to the northward along the west shores of Davis 

 JStraits aud Baflin's Bay, the dark variety seems to predominate. Near 

 Cape Searle they are extraordinarily abundant, breeding by thousands 

 on the Padlie Island, and they are so tame about their nesting-places 

 that they can be killed with a stick. The eggs, even after being blown, 

 for many months still retain the musky odor peculiar to the birds. Per- 

 fectly fresh eggs are quite good eating, but if a conitle of days old tlio 

 musky odor has so permeated them, even the :dlmiiieii. tli;it they are a 

 little too much for a civilized palate. 



So far as my observations went, more dark l>irds were seen in sitring 

 than ill fall, so the dark plumage cannot be eliaiacteristic of the young. 



file mollimoke is one of the greediest of bii'ds. I have seen them 

 feeding on the carcass of a Avhale, when their looks and actions were ])('!• 

 I'cctly those of a vulture, — completely begrimed Avitli blood and grease, 

 and so full that they could not take wing. I found great difiQculty in 

 ])iocuring white specimens that were not more or less daubed omi' with 

 "guny," especially about the head and neck. These binls possess ex- 

 traordinary i)owers of tlight, and are marvelously graceful on the wing, 

 rising with the billow and again settling into the trough of the sea with- 

 out any apjiarent motiiMi of the wings. 



73. Cymochorea leucorrhoa, Cmus. 



Noticed sparingly about Cape ]\Iercy and I'^xeter Sound. Two speci- 

 mens seen in Disko Ijord in August, when they were probably nesting. 

 Far less common on the passage southward tli;in the following. 



74 Oceanitea oceaiiica, I\r\>. 



'I'raeed as far iioitli as llesolution Ishiiid on our outward juissage; on 

 tbe lioiiiewiird, lirst seen about on<' hundred miles soulli of (\i])e Fare- 

 well. 



75. Pufiinua kuhli, (Uii.^s.) lioie. 



Cdmmon from Belle Isle to Grinnell Bay. Not ob.served in Cumber- 

 land, oil the Greenland coast. 



