Birds of Spitsbergen. 583 



were having a hard struggle with the iee^ and were therefore in 

 constant motion ; but the only bit of open water lay beyond 

 us, and the Geese were evidently set on making this, for they 

 passed us within 20 yards, running with outstretched wings 

 over the smooth bay-ice, the seals opening tlieir mouths at 

 them as they passed, and dropping in among the floes. 



Nordenskiold, referring to this bird, speaks (i. p. 125) of 

 its ''artless nest without down," as contrasted with "the 

 Eider's nests, rich in down." This, of course, is a mistake. 

 Nordenskiold probably noticed the nest of a bird which had 

 only just done laying and had not begun to sit. 



I trust I shall not be considered captious if I here correct, 

 as I suppose, an error which crept into Mr. Eaton's paper. 

 " This bird goes by the name of 'Rein-Goose' in Spitsbergen" 

 (Zool. 1874, pp. 3814, 3815), he says, and proceeds to find a 

 reason for this in the supposition that others may, by fog or 

 mirage, have been deceived, as the ' Diana's ' crew were, into 

 mistaking Brent Geese for reindeer. Of course the word is 

 not Rein-Goose at all ; it is " Ring-gaas," i.e. " Ring-Goose." 



- 7. Bernicla LEUcopsis (Bechstein). Bernicle Goose. 



Professor Newton, writing in 1865, was unable to assure 

 himself that this species had been correctly reported from 

 Spitsbergen. But there can be, I think, no doubt whatever 

 that the bird is a regular summer visitor to that country ; 

 and a short review of the subsequent evidence upon which 

 this conclusion is based may not be out of place. 



Von Heuglin says that Dr. Smitt, in 1868, obtained one 

 in the inner part of Advent Bay. 



Mr. Eaton, July 22nd, 1873, obtained seven examples out 

 of a flock of " a dozen or more " from a lakelet in the hills 

 opposite Diana Island, and describes the occasion with much 

 circumstance. 



Mr. Lament has described (' Yachting in Arctic Seas,' 

 pp.284, 285) how he succeeded in killing "a hundred" 

 from " a pond a little in-shore at the end of Advent Bay " 

 in July 1875. Startling as this sounds, I entirely agree 

 with the opinion Col. Feilden has expressed (Zool., March 

 1895), that so experienced a sportsman and so good a 



