424 ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV 



July 1 8. At this date the majority of the young I saw were apparently 

 not more than ten days or a fortnight old, hut were very strong runners. 

 The bean geese did not nest on the peat lands, but they were otherwise 

 equally distributed on the grasses of the low flats and on the high hills. 

 We found no nests with more than five eggs in them, and in two cases 

 the completed number was three. On August 31 we saw the first 

 flocks of geese flying south. 



Bernicla leucopsis (BECHSTEIN). Bernacle Goose. 



Laboo (S.). 



We saw on Kolguev but seven bernacle geese in all. Of these, 

 five were together on the banks of the Gusina on June 23. And two 

 in the country near it two days later. The Samoyeds who gave me 

 the name above recognised the birds at once from the picture, and 

 said there were very few on Kolguev, but that they did nest on the 

 Gusina, and there only. 



B. brenta (pallas). Brent Goose. 



Wurrah (S.). 



I never saw the nest or egg of a Kolguev brent. No inducement 

 which I was able to offer to the Samoyeds could extract from them 

 any information as to the breeding places of the birds, until the 

 Russians arrived in August, and with their help I got from Uano a 

 reluctant admission that they nested on the southern and north- 

 eastern ends of the island. They hold the bird in almost superstitious 

 regard because of its extreme importance to them as winter food. I 

 believe that they themselves never approach the breeding grounds 

 during nesting-time. For this they gave as their reason that a dog 

 or a gun would 'make them all be spoilt.' The Samoved dogs are 

 encouraged as bird-hunters, and a Samoyed cannot understand that 

 it is possible to go out without such companions. 



The only reason I have, then, for assuming that the brent goose 

 nests on Kolguev, is the word of the natives and the appearance of 

 vast numbers of old and young off the sand-banks in July. The taking 

 of these is fully described under July 18. About two-thirds only of 



