Tfcfi BIRDS OF JAN MA YEN ISLAND. 51 



to the falling of the water. (' Abhandlungen des Vereins fur 

 Naturkunde in Pressburg,' 1864, 1865.) 



Rissa tridactyla, L., Kittiwake. — Observed in the North Sea, 

 in the Norwegian fjords, especially numerous at Tromso ; rarely 

 seen near the ice. At Jan Mayen breeds in fair numbers in a 

 few low-lying districts. It is the only bird at Jan Mayen 

 which builds a large and durable nest, though quite devoid of 

 artistic pretensions. * * * The nest is placed against the 

 projecting ledges of the cliffs and consists of moss, grass-blades, 

 and mud, of which mixture a new layer is added annually, and 

 thus gradually consists of parallel layers which can be easily 

 separated. The bird lays two eggs. On June 19th these were 

 already partly incubated ; on July 25th young birds were taken. 

 Isolated specimens were noted in late autumn and in winter. 

 Two specimens were shot at sea on Feb. 20th, and we saw several 

 at sea on April 5th, and on May 3rd. They were to be seen in 

 numbers from May 17th, and were already busy nest-building. 

 This species was constantly accompanied by the Eobber Gull 

 [? S. parasiticus] . 



Xema Sabinii, Sabine, Sabine's Gull. — Eyelids coral-red; 

 iris brown; feet black; apex of bill horn-yellow, base of bill 

 black. Single specimens of this species appeared now and then 

 at Jan Mayen, but did not remain for long. The males in full 

 breeding plumage. This species, which is generally distributed 

 in high northern latitudes, on the west coast of America, travels 

 rather further south, even to 8° S. lat." (Saunders, Proc. Zool. 

 Soc. 1878, 219). On the east coast of America and the west of 

 Europe it advances much less south. A specimen shot near 

 Molks, and another shot in Hungary, in the Pesth Museum, 

 form isolated cases of its occurrence on the continent of Europe 

 (Newald, Mitt. Orn. Ver. in Wien, 1878, p. 26 ; Hermann, Ter- 

 meszetrajzi fuzetek, 1879, 2—3, 92, und Eev. 184, t. 4). 



Sterna macrura, Naumann, Arctic Tern. — Frequently met 

 with in the summer months singly and in pairs or small 

 parties. The birds sat in larger numbers on the sand-banks 

 near the South Lagoon ; nests I could not find. The examples 

 procured were in summer plumage. 



