The terrestrial mammals and birds of Nortli-Kast Greenland. 135 



When I returned, the bird had completely disappeared, I sus- 

 pect this bird had rather large young ones, which perhaps were 

 able to fly; if not, they would hardly have been able to resist the 

 night-cold without the protection of their mother; she may at first 

 unperceived have flewn towards me and met wdth me far from the 

 place, on which the young ones were lying. The disturbance caused 

 by my presence may have disposed the bird to think it advisable 

 to use my absence of some 4 hours to guide away her young ones 

 as far as possible and they may before my return have left the 

 tract which I explored. 



August 8''^ in the same year I met with another bird, the be- 

 haviour of which was very like that just described, but also this 

 lime I failed to find the young ones. 



I did not see any old bird later than August 8"\ 



August 22"'* I observed and secured 3 young on the shore by 

 Hvalrosodden some 20 kilometer from Snenæs. These were all 

 quite able to fly, but two of them had still plenty of down left 

 around the root of the bill. In company with some young Sander- 

 lings they sought food on the wet sand, where sandhoppers {Gani- 

 marus) were abundant. 



From the end of June I every day observed some Knots wan- 

 dering around in small flocks, which in the beginning counted only 

 some 3 to 4 birds, but later on as much as 10 to 11 individuals. 

 They sought food in company with small flocks of Sanderlings and 

 Turnstones on table-lands and by shores of lakes. They very often 

 could be met with on the lowest edge of large old snow-drifts, the 

 melting of which now took place at a rapid rate. 



The birds so obstinately stuck to such places, that they could 

 not be scared away even by shots. To be sure they did fly up and 

 circled around for a while high in the air, but they soon came 

 down to the very same spot, which they left, even if I was stand- 

 ing close by. 



Also the males, the song of which could still be heard at the 

 nesting-places, would sometimes for a while join the flocks by the 

 snow-drifts. The food, which the birds were seeking here Avas cer- 

 tainly vegetable; judging from examinations of stomachs it consisted 

 mainly of green algæ. 



The quarrelsomeness, that characterizes the males at their nest- 

 ing-places, was never expressed during their participation in these 

 excursions. 



The Knots wandering around would leave the country a little 

 before the middle of July. 



The last days before their departure the birds proved unusually 



