THE BIRDS OF JAN MAtEN ISLAND. 47 



as the variety glacialis. In the majority of our specimens the 

 length of wing was 18 centimetres, in the remainder 17 centi- 

 metres. * * * * The birds remain on the island from the 

 second half of May until about the beginning of September. 

 In all the specimens examined at this time, of which there 

 were hundreds, the beak was found in full summer phase, without 

 sign of moulting, which would seem to take place therefore 

 after leaving the island. 



Procellaria glacialis, L., Fulmar. — On our two passages from 

 Norway to Jan Mayen this bird was a constant companion of the 

 ' Pola.' The birds sat in thousands, employed in the capture of 

 Crustacea, on calm spots near the ice and between the drift-ice 

 and the island. It is scarcely possible to form a conception of 

 the numbers breeding on Jan Mayen. This bird breeds here on 

 the perpendicular face of the rock in niches, from which, as a 

 rule, the head only of the sitting bird can be seen projecting. 

 At the end of September some of the birds had departed, and 

 grey-coloured young specimens were now also to be seen 

 frequently. Until Sept. 30th, 1882 the Petrels returned with 

 every south wind to their haunts and were frequently seen (e. g. t 

 on Dec. 19th) nearly as numerously represented as in summer. 

 They disappeared with every north wind, though I have seen 

 solitary specimens on days on which the lowest temperatures 

 were recorded. Jan. 18th, 1883. — For several weeks Petrels 

 were then constantly seen. Even temperatures of — 18°, accom- 

 panied by north winds of a force of from 5 to 6, did not drive 

 these birds away. This bird forms during the winter the sole 

 food of the Arctic Fox at Jan Mayen. As soon as the bird had 

 disappeared for a few days we saw the fox sneaking around our 

 station, regardless of all precaution. It struck me as singular 

 that neither birds severely wounded and roughly despatched nor 

 those slightly wounded and captured by the dog, expressed either 

 fear or pain by cries ; when, on the other hand, one fell a prey 

 to the Arctic Fox, the poor bird cried like a fowl roughly handled 

 by a cook. The bird becomes an easy prey to the fox, both from 

 its curiosity and from its habit of flying very low on the sides of 

 the mountains and cliffs, so that it skims the ground with the 

 tips of its wings. On Feb. 27th, a hurricane suddenly arising 

 from the N.W. after a warm S.E. wind, killed hundreds of these 

 birds ; in the morning we found some still living, many already 



