X.] FLOCKS OF BIRDS OBSERVED. 383 



of food than the barren tundra. It was remarkable that the 

 hares were allowed to live between the tents and in their neigh- 

 bourhood without being disturbed by the score of lean and 

 hungry dogs belonging to the village. When farther into the 

 winter for the sake of facilitating the hare-hunting I had a hut 

 erected for Johnson the hunter, he chose as the place for it 

 the immediate neighbourhood of the village, declaring that the 

 richest hunting-ground in the whole neighbourhood was just 

 there. The shooters stated that part of the hares became 

 snow-blind in spring. The hares here are larger than with us, 

 and have exceedingly delicious flesh. 



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HARES FROM CHUKCH LAND. 



On our arrival most of the birds had already left these 

 regions, so inhospitable in winter, or were seen high up in the 

 air in collected flocks, flying towards the south entrance of 

 Behring's Straits. Still on the 19th October an endless pro- 

 cession of birds was seen drawing towards this region, but by 

 the 3rd November it was noted, as something uncommon, that 

 a gull settled on the refuse heaps in the neighbourhood of the 

 vessel. It resembled the ivory gull, but had a black head. 

 Perhaps it was the rare Larus Sahinii, of which a drawing has 

 been given above.' All the birds which passed us came from 

 the north-west, that is, from the north coast of Siberia, the 

 New Siberian Islands or Wrangel Land. Only the mountain 



1 See p. 93. 



