174 THE NATUEAL HISTOET BETIEW. 



necessaries. In 1858 the first expedition in pursuit of this object 

 started. In 1861, a second expedition was sent out, to which 

 Mr. Malmgren was attached ; and, we understand, that last year 

 a third sailed, of which this gentleman was again a member. 

 The zoological results of the Toyage of 1861, were by him com- 

 municated to the Boyal Swedish Academy of Sciences on the 

 11th February, 1863, and form the papers quoted at the head of 

 this article, which we may mention, for the benefit of those of 

 our readers who are unacquainted with the Swedish language, have 

 fortunately been translated into German, one by Dr. C. F. Trisch, 

 and published in the ' Journal fur Omithologie' ibr 1863, while the 

 other is printed in first part of the ' Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte* 

 for 1864. 



To each of these papers Mr. Malmgren prefixes a summary of 

 the information that has already been recorded, respecting the sub- 

 ject of which it treats, though it will be gathered from what we 

 have already said this is not much. With respect to the ornithology 

 of Spitsbergen it is no exaggeration to say that nearly a third of the 

 observations of his predecessors has been founded on error — but, 

 though not blind to their faults, our author deals gently with them, 

 as well becomes a man of science. This is particularly the case in 

 regard to two species of birds, which the officers of Parry's celebrated 

 expedition believed they had recognised. Mr. Malmgren even goes 

 out of his way to explain how the mistakes originated, and his ex- 

 planation is natural enough. He proves, at any rate to our own satis- 

 faction, that Spitsbergen is not the abiding place of either Larus 

 sdbinii or Larus rossi — the latter being certainly one of the very 

 rarest of known birds. It is extremely probable, as he says, that 

 Parry's officers mistook the young of Larus tridactylus for the one, 

 and Sterna arctica for the other. 



The following twenty-two species are considered by Mr. Malm- 

 gren to be the proper inhabitants of, or regular breeders in, Spits- 

 bergen : — 



Emberiza nivalis Anser bernicla 



Lagopus hyperboreus „ leucopsis [?] 



Charadrius hiaticula „ segetum [?] 



Tringa maritima Harelda glacialis 



Phalaropus fulicarius Somateria moUissima 



Sterna arctica „ spectabilis 



Larus eburneus Colymbus septentrionalis 



