246 Mr. J. Hancock on the 



fact there can be little or no doubt that the white one never 

 breeds in Iceland, and that the individuals shot there are 

 driven from their more northern haunts by the severity of the 

 climate during the winter months. This view of the case is 

 corroborated by a remark of Faber, who says, " I only met 

 with white birds in winter, and these on the northern parts of 

 the island (speaking of Iceland)"; and again, "The white va- 

 riety is rather rare ; I have met with it only in the winter 

 months.^^ And Mr. Proctor when there made frequent in- 

 quiries about the white gyr, and always received for answer 

 that they were extremely rare. He at length, however, pro- 

 cured a skin from one of the natives, who said the bird was 

 shot during the winter season. It appears to be doubtful 

 whether or not the Iceland species inhabits Greenland. Fa- 

 bricius and others, it is true, described grey birds as belonging 

 to these regions, but it is difficult to say whether these are the 

 young of the white gyr or are the Iceland species. From what 

 I can learn I am very much inclined to think that this which 

 I suppose to be a species is not a resident of those more 

 northern countries, or at least is not common there. Messrs. 

 Warham and Taylor, Captains of Davis' Straits whalers from 

 this port, inform me that they see only white birds during the 

 early part of the season, and it is not until the latter end of 

 the year that grey ones make their appearance. This is just 

 what might be expected, when we recollect that this bird, like 

 its congeners, undoubtedly gets its mature dress or breeding 

 plumage at the first moult : the nesthngs of the previous sea- 

 son get the white plumage before the whalers arrive, and as 

 they do not leave the fishing grounds until autumn, they then 

 meet with the young of the year in the grey or nest plumage. 

 Brehm, who^attempted to divide the two species, was unfor- 

 tunate in possessing only young birds ; this is apparent from 

 his describing the Iceland bird as having blue legs, whilst its 

 legs in a mature state are full yellow. He could never have 

 met with the old bird or he could not have fallen into this 

 error. Benwicke appears also to have laboured under the same 

 mistake at the time he believed there were two species, for 

 he described the one with yellow legs and dark spots on a 

 white ground, the other with white spots on a dark ground 



