NO. 4.] THE SLEDGE-JOURNEY AND FRANZ JOSEF LAND. 29 



ments; they often rested on the edge of the ice close to the open water. As 

 mentioned above, they were frequently seen sitting upon the edge of the 

 glaciers, where these went precipitously down into the sea. 



Now and then they might also be seen resting on the floe-ice some 

 distance away from the water's edge. On the 8th August, Johansen came 

 upon one sitting, apparently asleep, right on the flat ice off the shore of 

 Adelaide Island ; and it let him come within a few paces of it. It was a 

 young bird of that year. 



On rare occasions, they might be heard to utter a single note, which 

 Nansen thought resembled the cry of a wryneck (lynx). They were gene- 

 rally silent. 



They were not shot, as they were too small to serve as food. 



Lariis glaucus, Fabr. 1780. 



On the drifting ice itself, only occasionally observed, but numerous near 

 the land, from Hvidtenland southwards to Cape Flora. 



On June 1st, 1895, the cry of a large gull was heard above the tent, and 

 supposed to have been that of this species 1 . This was in about 82 20' 

 N. Lat. 



Subsequently one was seen now and again flying above the lanes; but 

 only in the neighbourhood of land did they begin to be numerous. 



A nesting-place was found on the 16th August, on the north side of 

 Torup Island (Coburg Islands). The colony was not very numerous. The 

 nests lay on the ledges along the lower part of the cliff, and generally con- 

 tained two half-grown young ones 2 (81 33' N. Lat). 



All along the NW coast of Franz Josef Land, L. glaucits was numerous; 

 but no other nesting-place than the one on Torup Island was seen. At about 

 the end of August, the young birds of the year began to appear; and all 

 through the autumn, old and young birds might be seen (together with P. 



1 In 'Farthest North', this species is wrongly called in several places Larus argen- 

 tatus (Vol. II, pp. 206, 230 & 238). 



2 In 'Farthest North', this species has been wrongly translated as 'the black-backed 

 gull' (Vol. II, p. 308). In the Norwegian edition, 'Fram over Polhavet' (Vol. U, p. 212), 

 a photograph is given of the cliff with the breeding gulls. 



