REY. H. N. BONAR ON THE BIRDS OF SPITSBERGEN, 249 
A LIST OF THE BIRDS OF SPITSBERGEN AS 
AT PRESENT ASCERTAINED, WITH SOME 
ACCOUNT OF TWENTY SPECIES NOTED 
DURING A FORTNIGHT’S VISIT IN SUMMER. 
1899. 
By Rev. H. N. Bonar, M.B.0.U, 
Kal 
(Read 1st February 1901.) 
Birds personally noted marked with an asterisk. 
1, LINOTA HORNEMANNI, Holbéll—Arctic Redpoll 
This, the Arctic form of the British Mealy Redpoll, has 
been found breeding in small numbers in the north of 
West Spitsbergen. I was not fortunate enough to see this 
bird. 
*2. PLECTROPHENAX NIVALIS (Linn.).—Snow Bunting. 
Widely and plentifully distributed. In broad ‘gravelly 
river deltas, on the raised flats at Advent Point and Sassen 
Bay, on the crumbling talus slopes and on the stony table- 
lands, this bird seemed equally at home. On all sides its 
cheery twittering song was to be heard. Met with some- 
times in pairs, but generally in flocks of five or six—the 
summer's brood. This species must have nested early, for 
all the young birds seen were well grown. Watched a 
brood of five at Dane’s Gat on July 23 (hopping cheerily 
over the wreck of Andree’s balloon-house), whose wing and 
tail feathers were not fully grown, but these were the only 
young Snow Buntings out of hundreds noted which flew at 
all weakly. 
Some eight or ten (probably two broods) were usually 
to be found perching in or around the wrecked winterer’s 
hut at Advent Point; and curiously enough, about the same 
number were noted on August 4 in an old coal-shed of 
