NO. 4.] THE SLEDGE-JOURNEY AND FRANZ JOSEF LAND. 31 



lying on the deck of the kayak, only a foot or two from his head. The bird 

 looked at him, but by a quick motion lie caught it in his hand, grasping it 

 over the back. It screamed, pecked at his fingers, and tried to get free, 

 which it also succeeded in doing, but with the loss of its tail feathers, which 

 remained in Nansen's hand. The bird flew away, as well as it could without 

 a tail, but alighted on the ice only a hundred yards off. After a while it 

 again approached, evidently on the look-out for some new opportunity of 

 getting at the blubber. 



Nansen has observed these birds following the bears, often with loud 

 screams, especially where seals have been seen in the neigbourhood, and there 

 is a prospect of any being killed. He has also frequently noticed them, hovering 

 over himself, as it seemed with special interest, while he was stalking a bear, 

 a seal, or a walrus. On such occasions they are less welcome than usual, 

 as they may easily warn the stalked animal by their screams. 



When an animal was killed and skinned, it was often astonishing to see 

 how quickly flocks of these birds would be on the spot, even when they had not 

 been observed for a long while previously. Suddenly their shrill, angry cry, 

 resembling that of a tern, would be heard high in the air. This cry may at 

 first come only from a single bird that has chanced to pass near the spot, 

 whose quick, keen eyes have at once discovered the prey. The cry, however, 

 will call others, and soon ten or twenty of them may have gathered, ma- 

 king a most disagreeable noise. 



At the winter hut, Nansen also often had an opportunity of observing 

 how a bird might chance to pass, and discover a place where, for instance, 

 a bear had been cut open and skinned, or where pieces of blubber, meat, 

 etc. had been left. After having examined the place, and perhaps eaten some 

 of the blubber, it would again fly away eastward. But almost invariably 

 it would then happen that after a while cries were heard in the air, and a 

 flock of from five to ten ivory gulls came flying from the east, and without 

 hesitation came directly to the place where food had been found. Nansen 

 often recognized the very same birds. One young bird in particular, which 

 was easy to recognize by some special black spots on one wing, was very 

 often to be seen in these flocks. 



On May 31st (1895), the first pair was seen during the sledge-journey, 

 and two others were heard or seen the same day (about 82° 20' N. Lat.). 



