It 





328 



PR.KCOCIAL GRALLATOREB — LIMICOL.E. 



follows the whales, imnu'diiitely aiiproiiehing. wlipii one is seen to blow, in quest of 

 the marine animals tliiis In'uiight to the surface. Wlialemen always watch the motidiis 

 of this Itiril, as it is well known that it can discern a wliale at a mucii greater distauci' 

 than they can. A spe'-imen wliicli had been killed on the back of an Oreu gltidlntDr 

 was brought to Mr. Kumlien l)y an Kskimo, and i I'sophagus was found to becramnuil 

 with small crustaceans, which were still alive, thuugh the bird had been killed .sev(i;d 

 hours. This species arrives in Cumberland with the breaking-uj) of the ice, and is 

 said to have greater powers of flight than either the L. tobntits or the »V. If'ilsoui, and 

 to fly much more swiftly. 



I'rof. Alfred Newton found these birds breeding on Spitzbergen, though he was iml 

 able to discover any of their nests. The exjdoring expedition of the i)rcvious ycur 

 met with one, however, in the beginning of .Inly up the North Fjord of the Sound. 

 Later in the month Professor Duner found a nest with tliret' fresh eggs in l!ill 

 Sound. They lay on the ground, without aiiv bedding, among small splinters of stone 

 Dr. Malmgren met with this species as far imrth as latitude iSO° 10', and states tliat 

 it feeds chiefly on a sjieeies of nostoc ; but the stomachs of those I'rofessor Newtmi 

 dissected on Kossii contained gnats and their larva*. Professor Newttui also rclVis 

 to this species as one of the birds of Iceland, where it is well known to the natives. 

 Faber met with three pairs, June 21, IHL'l, ami iigain, on the Oth of July, with a 

 family party of this species. In 18uS I'rofessor Newton discovered two i)airs on a 

 lake in the same district where Faber had found his, but they did not reniiun {» 

 breed. In ISGU he received four eggs, well identified, which had been sent to him 

 from Iceland by a friend. 



Wheelwright found this species very rare in Scandinavia ; but although he nc\ ci' 

 obtained its eggs, he had no doubt that it breeds on the coast of North Norway and 

 in East and West Finland. 



The IJed I'halarope is a distinguished swimmer. Sabine, in his menu)ir on the 

 Birds of (ireenland having met with a flock of four, in latitude OiS°, mentions tlicir 

 swimming in the sei tiong icebergs, several miles from the shore ; and Kichardson. 

 in his Appendix to ''I'arry's Second Voyage,"' states that it was observed in the ojicu 

 sea, out of sight of land, preferring to escape danger by swimming rather than hy 

 flying. This bird feeds on the smaller thin-shelleil crustacea and on aqiuitic «;cts, 

 which it i»ursues in the water and picks u|i as they are swimming: and its ar 

 has been compared to that of a Teal with the head drawn l)ackwards. 



This bird is common in the early summer in (xreenland. In I'arry's Aret^voy- 

 ages it was also observeil to be abundant on the North Georgian Islands, and l^^t.^^ 

 found breeding at Igloolik and on Melville Island. It is included in the list of birds 

 given in the zoology of r>»'echey's voyage, but the locality is not given. 



Dr. Walker met with a single specimen in ilelville Hay, near Cajjc York. Rein- 

 hardt also tnuimerates it among the liirds of Greenland, where it is evidently very 

 abundant during the breeding-season. (■ai)t!un lilakiston reeeived si)ecimens from 

 Hudson's Bay which were in their summer plumage. 



In the summer of 18G(> a very remarkable visitation of this bird took place in 

 Great Britain. It ajjpeared in unusually large numbers, and a great many were shot. 

 Mr. J. H. (Jurney, in a ])am])hlet recording this unusual occurrence, states that tii(! 

 flrst-comers made their appearance on the 20th of August, none being seen after the 

 8th of October. The greater number of those taken were shot between the 15th and 

 the 25th of Se])teraber, inclusive. Adult specimens and the young of the year were 

 obtained to the number of not less than two Juutdred and fifty ; they were chiefly 

 take, in the south of England. 



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