150 Mr. W. Eagle Clarke on the 



another, embarked, and the South Orkneys were finally 

 quitted on February 22nd, 1903, for the southern shores of 

 the Weddell Sea — the Antarctic Continent, the then- 

 discovered Coats Land. 



In the preparation of this contribution I feel conscious 

 that I have laboured under one very great disadvantage, 

 namely, that of not having been a member of the Expedition, 

 a circumstance which must naturally result in unavoidable 

 shortcomings. Much valuable information, both written and 

 verbal, has, however, been placed at my disposal, including 

 the official Zoological Log and full and interesting notes 

 from the private diaries of Mr. Bruce, Dr. Pirie, Mr. Rudmose 

 Brown, Mr. Wilton, and Mr. Mossman. Mr. Mossman, at 

 the request of the Argentine Government, spent a second 

 winter and summer at Laurie I., engaged in meteorological 

 and magnetic work, and he has most kindly supplied me 

 with some additional information on bird-life made alter 

 the departure of the Scottish Expedition. To all these friends 

 I desire to express my deep indebtedness and my sincere 

 thanks. My friend Mr. Norman B. Kinnear has also earned 

 my acknowledgments for his assistance in classifying records. 



I propose to conclude this section of my contribution by 

 instituting a comparison between the avifauna of the South 

 Orkneys with that of the nearest regions lying to the South 

 and North of them, and with that of the Antarctic Continentf 



Before proceeding to do this it will be well to remark 

 that the avifauna of the South Orkneys, as at present known, 

 comprises 19 species ; of these 13, perhaps 15, are natives, 

 i. e. breeding birds. 



Turning our attention first to the south, and comparing 

 the avifauna of the Orkneys with that of the South Shetlands, 

 which lie to the south and west, we find a remarkable similarity 

 between the ornis of the two archipelagos. This similitude 

 is no doubt due to analogous climatic and other conditions 

 influencing both animal and vegetable life. As regards 

 their bird-life, the two groups are practically identical, 

 the Orkneys only claiming one nesting species which does not 



