j^^4 A. L. V. Manniche. 



I often saw a falcon and a pigeon manoeuvering for a long while 

 extremely high up in the air until the pigeon finally — swift as an 

 arrow — vertically shot down to the ship and entered the pigeon-house, 

 which was built on the deck, all the while pursued by the falcon, 

 which stretching its talons forward and uttering angry cries would 

 only give up the chase just before the entrance-hole of the pigeon- 

 house. During this autumn 40 falcons were shot — all of them young 

 birds, and at least 5 times as many were seen. 



I found only Lemmings in the stomachs of birds from this 

 autumn. September 25*^^ the migration could be considered finished. 



One Gyrfalcon appeared quite accidentally November 1^' [on a 

 skerry near the Teufelkap]. 



The next autumn proportionally few falcons were observed; the 

 reason for this certainly being the great reduction in numbers of 

 Lemmings evidently caused by the severe winter 1906 — 07. 



I was unable to note any regular migration in spring. 



In the two summers the first falcons were observed respectively 

 May pt and April 20"\ The last mentioned observation was made 

 at the falcons-eyrie on Nordre Orienteringsø. 



The most northerly lying point, on which the Gyrfalcon was 

 observed, was in Independence Bay at lat. 82" n. 



Here Bertelsen and the Eskimo Tobias Gabrielsen recorded 

 a falcon May 26»^ 1907. 



I only succeeded in making relatively few observations regarding 

 the breeding of the Gyrfalcon. Only one of the nests found was 

 accessible viz. that on Nordre Orienteringsø. 



May W^ 1907 I shot an old female at this nest; judging from 

 her exterior she must have been sick, certainly from an inflamma- 

 tion of her oviduct. In her ovary were found 5 rather developed 

 eggs. She had very pale plumage and orange-yellow feet. In the 

 nest was lying a fresh egg, which on one side had a crack caused 

 by frost. Like the other eyries observed, this one was conspicu- 

 ously marked by heaps of excrements and remnants from the meals 

 of the birds such as pellets, bones and other remains of animals. 

 It was placed only 10 meters above the level of the sea on the 

 northern side of the rock, which rises precipitously and steeply 

 from the Stormbugt. 



Judging from the enormous heaps of excrements the nest had 

 certainly been inhabited for many years. The bottom of the nest 

 was formed only by the excrements of the birds. 



A falcon flying out from this nest was observed July U'^^ in 

 the same year, so the male must within a short time have found 

 another mate. 



