128 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
females. One which had been hatching had all the feathers 
mottled-brown without white, except the primaries and first half 
of the secondaries, which were pure white. There was some 
white also upon the wing-coverts. The males seem to 
change less in summer, and the old males, as in the case of the 
Snowy Owl, hardly at all. On the 10th May, 1876, I noticed 
Ptarmigan-droppings at Polaris Bay. Dr. Coppinger did not 
observe this bird there during the previous July. 
TurnsTonE, Strepsilas interpres.—On the 25th August, 1875, 
Turnstones, young and old, were collected in small flocks 
preparatory to leaving Discovery Bay. They were then feeding 
along the shore, all their means of subsistence inland being 
frozen up. In 1876 two or three Turnstones arrived on the 
29th May; on the 5th June I shot a male in beautiful summer 
plumage; by the 6th and 7th they were of frequent occurrence, 
and I saw a few passing to the north in small flocks. The 
Turnstone, like all other birds in Discovery Bay, is always at war 
with the Long-tailed Skua, flying at and insulting him with great 
courage. Turnstones, though feeding along shore at the close of 
their visit, subsist during the summer upon bees, caterpillars 
(Argynnis chariclea, Sch., and Dasychira grenlandica, Wocke), 
and Tipule. The stomachs of several examined were almost 
entirely filled with caterpillars, and I often watched them with a 
powerful glass and wondered at their dexterity in finding them. 
The summer note of the Turnstone is loud and pleasant: a 
twittering chatter of two notes quickly repeated, which is 
produced by the male bird while watching near the nest. On 
the 12th and 24th July, 1876, two nests were found with 
four eggs each; on the Ist August I saw a brood of four young, 
just able to fly; on the 6th there were many young about, and 
by the 9th they were feeding in small parties along the shore. 
The first nest was found by one of the sailors in a valley about 
three miles inland; by my instructions he left it untouched for 
me to see in situ; but, having taken insufficient bearings, when 
we returned together, he could not re-discover it. The ground 
was covered with a uniform grey shingle with scattered patches of 
brown herbage. For upwards of an hour did we cross and 
re-cross an area of about fifty square yards, within which limits 
my companion was positive that the nest was placed, the parents 
flying round in much agitation all the time. At last, in despair 
