Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 5 (1901).djvu/438

410 the cliffs, and fell a tremendous depth below, by the side of the falls. I descended the cliff in my eagerness to recover the prizes, until I was actually under the falls, and fully appreciated the meaning of the name Skjálfandafljót—"shivering or trembling"—and having reference to the shaking of the cliffs, by reason of the great body of water falling over. All my efforts were fruitless; the little birds had either fallen into the raging rapids, and been carried away, or into holes between the masses of lava. Afterwards I shot another splendid gander—judging by his size—but found it utterly impossible to recover his body, and saw it eventually carried away by the rapids. However, I had now thrown much more light on the problem, and, after fondly gazing at my two victims, I gave orders for the return with all speed to a farm where we could get rest and food. This we reached about 10 p.m., after fasting fourteen hours.

I made exhaustive inquiries on my return down the valley, and was most emphatically assured that the birds I had procured were the only kind of Wild Geese which breed in that part of Iceland, and that there was no other breeding haunt known in the whole North of Iceland than that I had visited, and, some said, in the whole of Iceland. I carefully explained the difference in the colour of the bill between A. cinereus and A. segetum.

, A. albifrons. (Grágœs.)— I did not meet with this bird, but it is well known to the farmers down the valley of the Skjálfandafljót, who told me that it was met with only resting during migration, and most emphatically assured me that it had never been known to breed in Iceland. This I heard first from the farmer at the breeding haunt of A. cinereus, and it was confirmed by others lower down the valley.

, Cygnus musicus. (Alft.)—Saw four of these birds at Myvatn, but did not procure any specimens. It appears to be rare as a breeding species in the North.

, Anas boscas. (Stokkönd.)—Fairly plentiful in some districts. I procured female and downy young only.

, A. strepera. ("Litla gráönd.")—This is another bird surrounded by much confusion and uncertainty. Gróndal does not know the bird, and most of the Icelanders with whom I came in contact did not recognize it. I think they confuse it with the female Mallard. Slater, during his fifteen years' experience, only saw the bird once, and then not with much certainty. I saw the adult female on at least four different occasions, but there was a succession of vexatious incidents, which are calculated to cause one to think of unparliamentary language, if not to use it, and which prevented me securing a specimen.