157 



Sterna macriira Naum., Schalow (1904), p. 150. 

 Sterna macrura Naum., le Roi (1911), p. 177. 

 Sterna macrura Naum., Zedlitz (1911), p. 314. 



cf, Dutch Settlement near Cape Boheman, Aug. 8, 1921. 

 cT juv.. Three Isles near Cape Boheman, Aug. 20, 1921. 



The Arctic Tern, a circumpolar bird, occurring very far North 

 (the Oxf. Exp. found it breeding on Moffen Island, lat. 80° N.!) is 

 common in Spitsbergen, where it breeds much on low flat islands 

 along the coast. 



On our crossing of the Arctic Ocean, I saw a few small flocks 

 flying North (June 28). These birds were late for, according to 

 LE Roi (1911, p. 178) most specimens arrive in Spitsbergen in 

 early June. 



The differences with Uirundo are rather easy to distinguish in 

 birds on the wing. The very long tail (short-tailed paradisaea also 

 occur, according to Schalow!), the pink-coloured breast and the 

 totally red bill are good characteristics, when well lighted up. Their 

 cry is much higher and shriller than that of Uirundo^ but what 

 struck me most, when I was in a breeding colony, was that _?jara- 

 disaea attacks much more furiously. 



On the coast near Cape Boheman many small breeding colonies 

 occurred this year. I found about 50 pairs on the cape itself, some 

 pairs spread along the coast, several pairs on a small island. West 

 of the cape, and great numbers on two of the Three Isles. From 

 this it follows that they also breed on the mainland, contrary to 

 LE Roi's opinion (1911, p. 178). 



On my arrival near Cape Boheman, they mostly had but one 

 egg (end of June), but on July 1 there were two eggs in all the 

 nests. I found only once (July 1, Three Isles) a nest containing 

 three eggs, which occurs rarely in Sterna paradisaea. (These eggs 

 are now in the possession of Rev. Jourdain). Koenig's expeditions 

 never found clutches of three eggs ; the Oxford Expedition, however, 

 collected one clutch of three and saw a few others. On the Anser 

 Isles I found, on July 17, a small number of paradisaea (O.E.). 



The "nest" is mostly without lining, cup-shaped or simply a 

 shallow hole in the ground. 



About the middle of July the first young were hatched off on 

 and near Cape Boheman. The first flying young I noted on Aug. 6; 

 but eggs were to be found much later still. On Aug. 18 I still 



