172 A. L. V. Manniche. 



sitting around on hummocks of ice or rocks. Snow-showers and 

 low temperature did not seem to trouble the full-grown young. 



At the end of August the Terns departed. 



The Terns, like certain other species, did not nest in the summer 

 of 1907. This year I stayed on the little island Maroussia from 

 July 13*^ to 17*^^ in order to study Terns and Eiders, which usually 

 nest on the island. The ice was lying all over, meters in depth, with 

 a few cracks, caused by the tide, and many ponds of melted snow. 

 Terns appeared every day on the island 4 or 5 times; they circled 

 screaming over it for a while and then set off" again always in a 

 westerly direction. On killed birds I found no indication of a 

 breeding spot nor any other sign indicating, that they intended to 

 nest. I found on the island a single fresh laid egg; but it was infertile 

 and carelessly dropped. Similar observations regarding Terns were 

 made a couple of days later on the skerries in the Stormbugt. Also 

 here I found single dropped eggs lying around. 



The Terns occurred not seldom inland by the fresh waters^ 

 especially by lakes with plenty of young trout, which the Terns like 

 very much; but far more often they could be met with at the mouths 

 of rivers and broad cracks in the ice near the coast. The food^ 

 which they sought here, was certainly exclusively small crustaceans. 



For the zoological museum in Copenhagen were collected the 

 skins of 4 full-grown birds and two young ones in spirit and 13 

 eggs. The following measurements have been taken. 



Sex Age Date Locality Wing Bill Tarsus 



mm. mm. mm. 



(^ ad. i'/7 07 Maroussia 265 32 15 



c? - i-'s 06 N.Lat.77 20' 278 31 16 



? - >-'/7 07 Maroussia 270 32 16 



? - ^'48 06 N.Lat. 77^20' 281 34 16 



Length Breadth 



mm. mm. 



Eggs 



July 6"^ 08 Maroussia. Slightly incubated. 1 36 28 



f 1 37 30 



— 3''* 08 Terneskær. Fresh laid j 2 35 29 



(1 43 30 



— 3'"'i 08 Maroussia. Fresh laid ! 9 ^q ^q 



M 42 29 



— 6"^ 08 Maroussia 1 2 43 29 



r 1 40 29 



— 3'''^ 08 Terneskær. Slightly incubated < 2 42 29 



(Maroussia. Two normal eggs | 1 22 18 



and one dwarf-egg in the nest. 2 40 30 



Not incubated 1 3 38 29 



