the point of the tail black.

"Only two sea mammals have been seen in this region in the
course of the winter, viz. the _rough_ or _bristled seal_
and the _Polar bear_. On two occasions traces of the latter
have been observed in the neighbourhood of land. They
appear, however, for the most part to keep by openings in
the ice farther out to sea, where during our stay two of
them were killed by Chukches from the neighbouring
villages. The rough seal is probably the only species that
occurs near the coast during winter. It is caught in great
numbers, and forms, along with fish and various vegetable
substances, the main food of the Chukches.

"Of land birds there winter in the region only three
species, viz. an _owl_ (_Strix nyctea_, L.), a _raven_
(_Corvus sp._), and a _ptarmigan_ (_Lagopus subalpina_,
Nilss.); the last-named is the most common. On the 14th
December, during a sledge journey into the country I saw,
about ten or twelve English miles from the coast, two large
coveys of ptarmigan, one of which probably numbered over
fifty. Nearer the coast, on the other hand, there were
found, especially during spring, for the most part only
single birds. The raven is common at the Chukch villages,
and builds its nest in the neighbouring cliffs. The first
egg was got on the 31st May. The mountain owl was seen for
the first time on the 11th March, but, according to the
statements of the Chukches, it is to be met with during the
whole winter. In April and May we also saw some mountain
owls, on the 21st May I saw two.

"At open places in the sea there are found here in winter,
the Chukches say, two swimming birds, the _loom_ (_Uria
Bruennichii_, Sabine) and the _Black guillemot_ (_Uria
grylle_, L.) Of the former we obtained two specimens for
the first time on the 1st May, of the latter on the 19th of
the same month. Possibly there winter in open places of the
sea besides these birds a species of Mergulus, one of which
came to the winter quarters of the _Vega_ on the 3rd
November, and a Fuligula, a specimen of which was sold to
us on the 9th March by a Chukch, who said he had killed it
at a clearing off the coast."

After the arrival of the migratory birds hunting excursions began to
form a welcome interruption in our monotonous winter life, and the
produce of the hunting