56 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



the purple and golden hues of the northern twilight. Gulls were 

 still playing above the shoals of fish, a Cormorant flapped along 

 the water, and a Black Guillemot rose from a dive. Next 

 morning, by contrast, was fresh and overcast, and as we crossed 

 the Arctic Circle the snow-patches became more numerous. 

 Arctic Terns passed us beating up the channel, as we neared the 

 seaward front of the lion-like Rodo. Skuas were seen at frequent 

 intervals, and I watched the amusing performance so often de- 

 scribed by visitors to this coast. Screams of a Common Gull 

 drew my attention : a Skua was hot in chase. Its tail was 

 spread kestrel-wise, showing the projecting middle tail-feathers. 

 It swooped and grappled, putting down its feet to tackle the 

 Gull. The latter settled on the water, but the Skua kept making 

 feints at it, till a Lesser Black-back joined in and chased the 

 two. Finally the Gull reached a rock, and its persecutor 

 sheered off. 



As we steered to seaward to round the promontory of Kunnen, 

 I heard a Whimbrel, and three Scoters flew past in company with 

 Eiders. Numerous Puffins rose before the vessel. The islands 

 just outside Bodo were swarming with Eiders. With them were 

 Oystercatchers, Gulls of two or three species, and a pair of Red- 

 throated Divers. As we anchored off the little town of Bodo, 

 with its wharves and shipping, a Raven flew past. About 2 p.m. 

 we saw the wild Matterhorn peaks of Kjaerring, outposts of the 

 grand district of the Folden Fjord. The vessel steered through 

 the Gissund, a narrow strait with clear green water. Here were 

 whole fleets of Eiders, at least one of the old birds followed by 

 young ones. Oystercatchers ran over the stones and seaweed ; a 

 White-tailed Eagle rose from the rocky shore, and flapped slowly 

 past our stern. It was an immature bird, its back splashed with 

 lighter colour, and its tail not yet white. We now steered out 

 into the Vest Fjord, and tossed and rolled over thirty miles of 

 open water to Svolvaer in the Lofotens. Black-backs and a Skua 

 followed the vessel. A short run ashore added only one species, 

 the Wheatear, to our list. Later in the evening, as we skirted 

 this lofty coast, Herring Gulls appeared. They seem to avoid 

 the more land-locked waters farther south, where the vessel was 

 followed by Common Gulls and Lesser Black-backs only. 



On the morning of the 12th, as we neared Tromso, the savage 



