The terrestrial mammals and birds uf Nortli-East Greenland. 185 



The next spring the female falcon was observed at the nest 

 already April 20*^. The breeding did, however, not commence be- 

 fore May 26»\ 



I often passed the nest and thus had good opportunity to observe 

 the breeding falcon. 



She kept very close on the nest> and did not leave it, even if I 

 approached to the very side of the rock, only stretching out her neck 

 to eye me anxiously. The male used to sit on the projections not 

 far from the nest. 



June 22"'^ I arrived together with two of my companions in a 

 dogsledge at the eyrie of the falcon, intending to secure the young 

 ones now supposed to be hatched. 



The 4 eggs were, however, not yet hatched, but I could plainly 

 hear the lioarse cries of the 3'oung ones within. The shells were 

 still unbroken with exception of one, that had an insignificant crack. 

 I kept the eggs warm by putting them under my shirt against my 

 body. 



Having sledged for some hours we arrived at my station at 

 Stormkap, and here I continued my brooding of the eggs in my 

 sleeping-bag. 



The first of the young ones emerged on June 23*'' the next three 

 24 hours later. The time of incubation for this clutch of eggs was 

 thus nearly 29 days. 



The female Falcon behaved very anxiously when I ascended the 

 rock and she very unwillingly left her nest. Several times she rushed 

 swiftly and vigorously towards the disturber. The male, which 

 proved very cautious, left the rock, when the female was shot. 



Both the falcons had a very pale colour; the feet of the female 

 were lemon-yellow; she was much bigger than the male. June 8"^ 

 1908 I found another nest of Gyrfalcon on the steep northern side 

 of the mountain Trekroner. This nest was placed at least 200 meters 

 over the level of the ground and was quite inaccessible. 



The enormously high heaps of excrements around the nest formed 

 a large whitish-yellow ledge and could be seen from a distance of 

 3 km. Around the eyrie a colony of Barnacles (Anser leiicopsis) had 

 their nesting places. I was surprised to see, that the Geese were 

 sitting in couples on the projections close to the Falcons. 



When I — by means of a pair of rifle bullets — caused the breed- 

 ing falcon to fly out of her nest, she and the male circled around the 

 mountain in company with the Geese for a long while. From a 

 dizzy height the falcon at last swift as an arrow shot down to the 

 nest and was soon followed by the Barnacles, which again confidently 

 took their seat close by. 



