The terrestrial mammals and birds of North-East Greenland. \Q\ 



Several times I saw Glaucous Gulls — together with Ravens 

 and Foxes — attend upon the meals of the Polar Bear. 



Gradually as the sides of the lakes were thawed and the rivers 

 began to run the Glaucous Gulls appeared here hunting the breed 

 of trout (Salmo alpinus), Avhich in most parts of such places occur- 

 ed in great numbers. This hunting was also performed by the birds 

 wading or swimming. 



The pairing began in the first days of June. (June 2"^* 1908 I 

 observed a couple of Larus glaucus in the act of pairing on a skerry 

 in Stormbugt.) 



The gulls nested in smaller parties on the steep rocky walls Ьл' 

 Sælsøen and certainly also by Teufelkap and Koldewey Islands. As 

 the nests were placed on such inaccessible rocks I did not succeed 

 in examining them more closely. 



Mr. Freuchen found two hard incubated eggs on a large stone 

 lying solitary, to all sides surrounded by water July 7'^ 1908. The 

 eggs w^ere brought home. 



This certainly uncommon place for a nest may have been cho- 

 sen on account of its excellent situation for fishing. 



The grown up young ones left the nesting colonies about the 

 end of August and resorted to the shore, where they for some days 

 further were fed by their parents. 



At my stay at Hvalrosodden in the last half of August 1906 

 I daily had good opportunity to study the behaviour of the 

 Glaucous Gulls. 



Some 100 gulls among which were some younger birds had 

 settled on the bars of sand not far from the mouth of Lakseelven. 

 At certain times of the day the Gulls used to undertake excursions 

 up the river and along the sides of the lake. 



Sometimes they would fly over the bay or along the shore to 

 the very bottom of Mørkefjord. They especially hunted trout, which 

 in the fresh waters and in the bay occurred in vast multitudes. 

 Especially early in the morning they were busy hunting trout. 



I found trout measuring as much as 38 cm. in the oesophagus 

 and stomachs of shot gulls. 



The gulls used at ebb-tide to gather the larger and smaller cru- 

 staceans w^hich were left on the shore. A zealous chase after the 

 young ones of the Long-tailed-Duck was sometimes undertaken. 



Some carcasses of walrusses lying on Hvalrosodden Avere, 

 strange to say, not very attractive to the gulls, which only now 

 and then would take a bite of the half rotten blubber. At our 

 tents they proved very forward and would busily pick up the 

 thrown out entrails of hares and salmons. 



XLV. 11 



