_, L.) marked on the
upper part of the body in black and brownish grey. It lays four to
five white eggs in an artless nest without down, scattered here and
there among the eiders' nests rich in down. This variety of goose is
found in greatest numbers during the moulting season at small inland
lakes along the coast, for instance on the line of coast between
Bell Sound and Ice Fjord and on Gooseland. The walrus-hunters
sometimes call them "rapphoens"--partridges--a misleading name,
which in 1873 induced me to land on the open coast south of Ice
Fjord, where "rapphoens" were to be found in great numbers. On
landing I found only moulting barnacle geese. The barnacle goose
finds its food more on land and inland lakes than in the sea. Its
flesh accordingly is free from the flavour of train oil and tastes
well, except that of the female during the hatching season, when it
is poor and tough. The eggs are better than the eider's.

On Spitzbergen besides the barnacle goose we meet with the closely
allied species _Anser leucopsis_, Bechst. It is rather rare, but
more common on Novaya Zemlya. Further there occurs at the last-named
place a third species of goose, _vildgaosen_, the "grey goose" or
"great goose" of the walrus-hunters; the bean goose (_Anser
segetum_, Gmel.), which is replaced on Spitzbergen by a nearly allied
type, the pink-footed goose (_Anser brachyrhynchus_, Baillon). These
geese are much larger than both the eider and the barnacle goose,
and appear to be sufficiently strong to defend themselves against
the fox. They commonly breed high up on some mossy or grassy oasis,
among the stone mounds of the coast mountains, or on the summit of a
steep strand escarpment in the interior of the fjords. During the
moulting season the grey geese collect in flocks at the small
fresh-water lakes along the coast. The flesh of this species of
goose is finer than that of the common tame goose and has no trace
of any train flavour.

Among the swimming birds that give the summer life on Novaya Zemlya
its peculiar character, we may further reckon the scaup-duck and the
swan. _Alfogel_ or _allan_, the long-tailed duck (_Fuligula
glacialis_, L.) is rare on Spitzbergen, but occurs very generally on
Novaya Zemlya, and especially in the Kara Sea, on whose coasts it is
seen in summer collected in large flocks. _Mindre saongsvanen_,
Bewick's swan (_Cygnus Bewickii_, Yarr.), is the most nobly formed
and coloured bird of the north. I have al