no BIRDS OF ICELAND 



{e.g. Myvatn, |)iiigvallavatn, Arnarvatn). The nest 

 is a slight hollow in the ground, and is usually 

 without any lining; the two eggs (occasionally three) 

 are a little over IJ inches in length and very variable 

 in coloration; the ground colour varies from light 

 blue-grey to grey-buff, and from a warm ochre to 

 olive ; and they are spotted with blue-grey and dark 

 brown. 



Arctic Terns are very bold at their nests, and will 

 stoop at any intruder's head, and often with some 

 effect. I saw one dash repeatedly at the head of a 

 girl who was collecting eggs on an island in an 

 Icelandic lake; once the bird descended with such 

 force as to break several of the eggs she was carry- 

 ing on her head in a basket. Two days later I 

 was unkind enough to be immensely amused at the 

 predicament of my companion (Mr. Tom Carter, now 

 doing good ornithological work in Australia). He 

 had waded to a little islet in a lake, and was returning 

 with some eggs in his cap, very gingerly, for the lava 

 bottom was full of nasty cracks. The terns spied 

 him at their sanctuary, and hastened up, and one 

 vicious bird added very materially to his anxieties 

 by rapping him on his undefended head with its 

 bill, with sufficient force to draw blood in more 

 than one place. The Arctic Tern reaches Iceland 

 in May, and leaves in late August; but these dates, 

 like all others respecting the arrivals and departures 

 of birds in Iceland, are subject to season and weather, 

 and vary considerably. 



