THE TUNDRA AND ITS FAUNA 27 



it appears to winter in the Arctic, notably in Green- 

 land. 



Wherever in the tundra region lemmings and small 

 birds are to be found, there occurs the snowy owl 

 (Nyctea nivea), though it does not seem to be common 

 except where lemmings are abundant, as in Nova 

 Zembla and parts of the mainland of Northern Asia. 

 The bird has a general resemblance in coloration to 

 a ptarmigan in winter plumage, and often lives in the 

 stony regions frequented by that bird, upon which the 

 owl preys. It is, however, no exception to the rule that 

 the carnivorous animals of these barren regions need to 

 lay the sea under contribution as well as the land, for it 

 eats fish in addition to birds and small mammals. It 

 winters in the tundra, and is a very characteristic bird 

 of the region. Another predatory bird of the Arctic is 

 the Greenland gerfalcon (Falco candicans), a beautiful 

 bird, predominantly white in colour, which inhabits 

 Greenland and Arctic America, and is represented by 

 an at least closely allied species in Northern Asia. It 

 preys upon ptarmigan and other birds, and also upon 

 lemmings, and winters in Greenland. The third pre- 

 daceous bird of the tundra is the raven (Corvus corax), 

 which is the scavenger of the region, and will eat 

 practically anything from land or sea. 



As is to be expected from the unfavourable con- 

 ditions of life, reptiles and amphibians are absent, and 

 fresh-water fish are not abundant. Representatives of 

 the salmon family occur in some lakes, but there is 

 nothing characteristic. 



Among the invertebrates the insects present some 

 interesting points. Except in Spitsbergen and Nova 

 Zembla, mosquitoes are enormously numerous, and 

 form in many regions a terrible plague. It may seem 



