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THREE SUMMERS AMONG THE

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

‘+ advd

‘ISAN S.T1NS GANOVE-ANOVIG LVAYSD

THREE SUMMERS AMONG
THE BIRDS. OF

Poot AIN LAPLAND

BY

HENRY J. PEARSON

AUTHOR OF ‘‘' BEYOND PETSORA EASTWARD”

WITH HISTORY OF

SAINT TRIPHON’S MONASTERY

AND APPENDICES

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LONDON
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7 PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, W.
1904

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CON BN TS

PREFACE.

CHAPTER I

Russian LAPLAND, 1899

CHAPTER II

Russtan LAPLAND, 1901

CHAPTER III

Russtan LAPLAND, 1903

CHAPTER IV

History oF Saint TrRIPHON’s MONASTERY

APPENDIX I

List OF THE Brirps oF Russian LAPLAND

APPENDIX II

STORES AND EQUIPMENT

INDEX

PAGR

7

II2

170

192

202

210

LIST OF PLATES

PLATE
1. Great BLACK-BACKED GuLL’s NEST. , ; : Frontispiece
2. Herrine-GuLi’s NEstT . : : : : . facing page 2
3. Grey Lac-Goose’s NEst ‘ 4
4. Pintait Duck’s NEst . - 6
5. Russians NETTING PurFins oN LitTLE HENG : : - 10
6. TrIPpHONA RivER, PECHENGA GULF i 14
7. PECHENGA RIVER AND VILLAGE . : : . ‘3 16
8. Repwine’s Nest In Bircy . : ; : : : . 20
g. JOHN REGINA AND FaMILy . ; : : : : : 24
to. Two LakEs, 300 FT. ABOVE Litza Fyorp . : , a 26
11, Grass Mounps on HENG : 30
12, SERVANTS OF THE MONASTERY ne 34
13. PECHENGA LAKE . ; - 36
14. Huts at Heap or PEecuenca LAKE ; 40
15. Upper Fatt on Pecuenca River $ : : ; os 42
16. RouGH-LEGGED Buzzarp’s NEstT . cA 44
17. Ivan’s Hut. ’ ; : ; : : ; ; - 46
18. WHOOPER Swan’s NEST i 48
19. Eacur’s (*) Nxst . ; is 50
20. REINDEER-Moss - 52
21. Dorrere.’s NEst. “5 54
22. FuLowers oF Trollius Europeus . é : : ; 7" 56
23. REINDEER ON KILDIN ISLAND ss 58
24. S.S. ‘‘ Expres” oN THE UKANSKOE RIVER . a 60
25. Lutni, UKANSKOE RIVER . : ; _ °62

26. INHABITANTS OF LUTNI

4

Vill

PLATE

LIST OF PLATES

RAVINE NEAR LUTNI

Famity SiepGE, Lutni ‘ :
Brincinc FirEwoop Home, Lutnt
Erratic Brock on Hii, Lurnt
GRAVEYARD, LuUTNI

SHoRE-LaRK’s NEsts . ,
Two Laprs at Lutni

Our Camp opposite LUTNI
RIVER VISITED ON KANIN
CHURCH AND CAMP ON KANIN
DRIFTWwoop ON BEACH, KANIN
To THE SoutH OVER River, KANIN
SAMOYED HovusE, KANIN

Fox Trap, KANIN

ROUGH-LEGGED Buzzarp’s Nest, KANIN
Eces OF THE GLAUCOUS GULL
BuuFFS ON KiLDIN ISLAND .
RED-THROATED DiIvER’s NEST
VELVET Scoter’s NEST
TURNSTONE’S NEST

Scurvy-GRASSs

MULTEBG&R, OR CLOUDBERRY
Moraine at Koua

PRINCIPAL CHurRcH, Kowa

‘627 VERSTS FROM Koa”

Kitsa STATION

PuLOozERO STATION : , :
WHIMBREL’S NEST

Masetsip (WINTER STATION)
CHurcH, Masetsip. ‘
Nest oF Motacilla viridis

Raz-NavVoLok STATION

. facing page

66
68

7°

PLATE
59:
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
G7:
68.

List OF PLATES

BoaTMEN FROM RAz-NAVOLOK
Younc or BAR-TAILED GoDWIt
BOATMEN FROM PULOZERO

“Tra” ON THE LAKE SIDE .

1X

. facing page 154

THE ARCHIMANDRITE JONATHAN, St. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY
b bb)

GENERAL VIEW OF St. TrIpHON’s MONASTERY

CHURCH DO. DO.
Monk’s House DO. DO.
Gurst House DO. DO.

Two CuuRCHES ON Site oF First MONASTERY

MAP OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

158
162
166
170
172
176
180
184
188

PREFACE

HAT the Bird Life of Russian Lapland should be very slightly
x known to Englishmen is, no doubt, partly due to the diffi-
culties of travel there, and also to the fact that the fishing
and shooting are not good enough to tempt our countrymen to
penetrate its wildernesses. Sportsmen have often been valuable
pioneers in ornithological work. Until lately the only sources of
information available in English respecting even the country itself
were Edward Rae’s books, “The Land of the North Wind,” and
“The White Sea Peninsula,’ in which accounts are given of his
journeys in 1873 and 1879. In the former year he sailed in a
Russian boat up the west coast of the Kanin peninsula, and journeyed
through some of the interior of that district; while in the latter
year the most important part of his travels was from Kandalax to
Kola by the series of lakes which form a natural highway for much
of the distance. These books show Rae to have been gifted with
many of the qualities most necessary in a traveller; and, as I after-
wards found to my cost, he certainly selected the only feasible means
of reaching the coast of the Kanin peninsula. ‘The list of birds
given in his second book is, however, open to question; at all events,
some of the species, if correctly identified, had wandered very far
from their usual habitats. Lieutenant George T. Temple, R.N., con-
tributed a short account of Russian Lapland to the Proceedings of
the Royal Geographical Society for October 1880, accompanied by
a map, which he had drawn from the original one made by Professor
J. A. Friis, and this map was reprinted by Rae in his “ White Sea
Peninsula.” As it is still the best existing of the country, I have
inserted it in the present volume, with some slight alterations.

xu PREFACE

An interval of twenty years elapsed before any material addition
was made to our knowledge of the country. In 1899 Alexander
Platonovich Engelhardt—then Governor of the Province of Arch-
angel—published “A Russian Province of the North,’ a book which
will long remain the standard authority on these northern parts of
Russia. He gives a most graphic description of his travels through
Russian Lapland, the Petchora district, and Novaya Zemlya, combined
with a series of statistics of population, natural products, game, &c.,
which probably only a Governor could supply.

In the same year, Mr. Harry F. Witherby, a member of the
British Ornithologists’ Union, followed in Rae’s footsteps from
Kandalax to Kola; the work he did there will be more fully referred
to in the third chapter. I take this opportunity of acknowledging
the material assistance he has kindly rendered me in preparing
the list of birds. Mr. Witherby has sent me a list of the birds of
Russian Lapland, prepared by M. H. Goebel, and published in Russian
and German by the Imperial Society of Natural History of St.
Petersburgh, TXX XIII. fase. 2, 1902. This list appears to combine
the records of Pleske and others with those of the writer. M. Goebel
has divided ‘the country into eighteen districts, for the purpose of
showing the distribution of the various species, and has added the
islands of Solovetski as a nineteenth. The seven species only re-
corded from these islands are excluded in my Appendix. He gives
IgI species for Russian Lapland, but as several of these are synonyms
according to English classification, and others given only on the
authority of natives, the list is reduced to 182. He divides his list
as follows :—

Breeding birds, ascertained through authenticated findings . 133
Breeding birds, as tolerably certain from observations . : 5 4
Breeding birds, more or less doubtful . : : : : 4 20
Migrating birds and wandering guests . : 17
Winter guests ° : . . : : : 6
Non-breeding and perpetual ocean bird , : : J I

PREFACE xlll

It is much to be regretted that this gentleman has not given
further details respecting his authorities for including some of the
species and their breeding in the country. I must confess personal
responsibility for one species open to objection, viz., Parus camtschat-
kensis, inserted in the article contributed to The Jbis, October
1899, With the hurried assistance of one of our best English
ornithologists, on the authority of a skin terribly mauled by
shot; but a small committee subsequently “sat on” that skin
and unanimously decided it to be Parus borealis, Another error
connected with the birds of this country was the inclusion of
the Green Sandpiper TZotanus ochropus among the birds of Lutni,
in The Ibis, p. 212, April 1896, which should have been entered
as the Wood-Sandpiper 7. glareola. Unfortunately this mistake
has already been copied in two standard ornithological works
on the continent. I am also far less satisfied in 1904 with the
evidence on behalf of the Great Snipe Gallinago major, recorded
on the same page, than I was in 1895. The eggs are decidedly
large for the Common Snipe, but they are equally small for the
Great Snipe; the bird was only seen by two of us, and not shot.
The nesting of Tringa subarquata (Pelidna subarquata, Gild) on the
western Murman coast is certainly a case where information is
desirable, beyond the * (indicating breeding) inserted in the list.
All the information we have at present shows that the breeding
range of this species is to the east of the river Yenesei, and any
record in Europe ought to be most carefully verified before it is
admitted. English ornithologists would be glad to receive further
details respecting the breeding haunts of Stercorarius pomatorhinus on
the west Murman coast, although I have little doubt the bird nests
there in favourable seasons. Rae gives S. catarrhactes in his list of
birds for Russian Lapland, and M. Goebel also includes it, but
possibly both have mistaken a melanic specimen of 8. pomatorhinus
for this species. Still M. Goebel’s is a valuable list, adding to our
knowledge of the birds of this country.

X1V PREFACE

My first visit to Russian Lapland was made in 1895 to the
district round the Ukanskoe river, and an account of its results was
published in “ Beyond Petsora Eastward ”—a title taken from Milton’s
“ Paradise Lost.” When my late friend Philip Crowley’s books were sold
this was entered as “ Beyond Pretoria Eastward.” In 1899 I spent six
weeks in the northern parts of Russian Lapland; the country round
the Ukanskoe river was revisited, and a short trip made to the Kanin
peninsula on the east side of the White Sea in the summer of 1901 ;
and in 1903 I went to the interior of the country south of the town
of Kola. The following chapters contain the results of these three
years work among the birds of the above-named districts; and
though they record no new species or facts of importance, they will,
I trust, prove of sufficient interest to brother-ornithologists to justify
their publication.

By referring to the map, it will be seen my personal knowledge of
the large area of Russian Lapland is very limited. The general im-
pression produced on my mind by those parts visited was that the
country had very little economic value in the present, or capacity
for development in the future. The sea-fishery is inferior to that
on the adjoining coast of Norway, and is also more uncertain.
For instance, the fish were plentiful for several years off Zip-Navolok,
and gave employment to a thousand men; a church, hospital,
&c., were built, and then the fish went elsewhere. At the time
of my visit in 1899 the windows of the church and hospital were
boarded up, and only two or three houses occupied. I have never
seen a fishing town in the north of Norway in this deserted state.
Yet the sea-fishery is far the most valuable asset the country
possesses, for the greater part of the land is practically worthless
and incapable of supporting more than its present scanty population.
Its productive power is best gauged by the fact that almost all the
inhabitants desert it during the summer months, and only return |
when it is covered with two or three feet of snow. The scarcity of
population in summer was illustrated on our tour in 1903 extending

PREFACE XV

over six weeks, when we never met a man or woman away from the
stations, although we were out ten to twelve hours every day. Of
course it must be understood I do not include in this statement the
area within a mile of the town of Kola. Generally speaking, the land
produces nothing of value but reindeer-moss, and what little food
man obtains consists chiefly of fish from the lakes and rivers, supple-
mented by the surplus stock of his reindeer. The most notable
exception is the Pechenga district, where fairly good grass meadows
exist round the fjord, and support a number of cattle. The valley
beyond the fjord is favoured with better soil and climate; and large
trees were plentiful, as the stumps testified, before the monks cut
down so many for building the monastery. A little grass also grows
about the town of Kola, providing food for about a dozen cows and a
few horses; but after leaving Kola we did not see an acre of grass in
the whole sixty-nine versts to Pulozero.

All the land in the valley through which the Kola river flows
appears to be poor sandy detritus with occasional patches of glacial
clay, both almost entirely devoid of humus. This poverty of the soil
explains not only the absence of grass but also the poorness of the
trees, for although the whole valleys and lower hills are covered with
birch, pine, and spruce, very little of the wood can be called timber,
and trees large enough to cut into seven-inch planks are often a mile
apart. In fact, the country deteriorates rapidly as one proceeds from
the north-west towards the east and south-east; and more than half
the peninsula produces nothing beyond birch-scrub and _ reindeer-
moss. Consequently that part is deserted by Russians, and inhabited
only by Lapps and other inferior races.

It seems clear, from my experience and that of Mr. Witherby, that
the number of birds of many species breeding in this country varies
greatly in different seasons; but the cause of this is not so apparent.
The weather is certainly not always the reason; for instance, Mr.
Witherby came across a number of Bar-tailed Godwits—sometimes
two or three pairs in one marsh, while we only saw two pairs in the

Xvl PREFACE

whole of the same district; yet the weather both in spring and
summer was finer in 1903 than in 1899, 1903 being nearly a normal
one both in depth of snow and the time of its melting, while 1899
was distinguished by one of the heaviest snowfalls and latest seasons
known for forty years. As far as ducks, geese, and swans are con-
cerned, their numbers will probably continue to decrease in the future
as they have done in the past. Most of the peasants have guns, and
the quality of both guns and ammunition is improving rapidly. In
1903 I first saw the natives shoot birds on the wing. Every large
bird that is eatable is shot throughout the breeding-season on all
opportunities; still we must recollect most of these birds are only
there to be shot during the summer, and form a part of the food
supplies. Egg-collecting for dealers is still unknown in all the
districts visited, I am glad to say. |

THREE SUMMERS AMONG THE

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

CHAPTER I

1899

NE great difficulty of travel in the North is that all arrange-
@ ments for the voyage must be made months beforehand,
when there is no possibility of learning what the summer,
conditions of the ice, and other important items are likely to be. It
is, therefore, almost entirely a matter of chance whether the explorer
has a favourable season to reach the desired parts and to find birds
there. In 1899 my brother, Mr. Charles Pearson, and I were very
unfortunate; and it seemed that we had hit on the worst season ex-
perienced in the north of Norway for more than forty years. As we
advanced towards Russian Lapland matters became worse rather than
better.

On our arrival at Tromsé, May 19th, we found the main streets
of the town buried under four feet of snow, compressed into one hard
solid mass by the winter’s traffic; while many of the small courtyards
behind the houses were filled with snow to a depth of eight feet, a
narrow passage having been excavated to give access to the back-
doors. This did not promise well for the advent of summer-migrants
or the nesting of birds at present. In fact, since we entered the

Arctic Circle the whole coast-line had been covered under deep snow
A

2 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

down to the sea-level, and the country presented the appearance of
mid-winter rather than the last fortnight in spring.

I had chartered the s.s. Zupres for our voyage, a small steamer
built of iron, and therefore quite unfit to encounter ice; her accom-
modation also was limited, and a voyage on her for some weeks might
be distinctly described as “roughing it,” compared with the comforts
of an ordinary English yacht, or even the s.s. Zawra, in which we had
made our voyage of 1897. Still the Avpres could carry a good supply
of coal, and she had made several voyages of exploration round the
Spitsbergen coasts, notably Sir Martin Conway’s expedition in 1896.
The Zzpres came into the harbour three hours after our arrival,
and the remainder of the day was fully occupied with unpacking
stores, &c.

May 21st——The weather had been so stormy during the whole of
the preceding day, our departure was delayed till this morning, when
we started early for the outer belt of islands. The warmer air off
the sea had melted much of the snow here, but great drifts still re-
mained in all directions, and icicles three feet long adorned the sides
of the gullies. The only birds which had commenced to lay were a
few Grey Lag-Geese Anser cinereus, Great Black-backed Gulls Larus
marvnus, and Herring Gulls Zarus argentatus; and the owner of the
first island had sent less than a score of eggs to market. Even the
Hooded Crows Corvus cornix, had not yet built here, although they
had eggs on the next group of islands. At the same date in 1896
there were hundreds of Gulls’ eggs in all directions, and gathering for
sale was nearly over as far as the early species were concerned. Many
small birds, which do not breed on the island, were feeding on the
open spaces, waiting for the weather to improve and allow them to
proceed to their usual haunts. Among them we identified five Twites
Linota flavirostris, the first either of us had seen within the Arctic
Circle, although Professor Collett states it is common on some parts
of the coast and islands as far north as Tromso."

1 “Remarks on the Ornithology of Northern Norway,” p. 211.

oVd
‘'d34dqd ‘Nivy MONS ‘LSSAN S.TINDS-ONIYYSH

*66-S-Sz MUNDNOC It 2ClZ/iec

2 GINA]

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 3

May 22nd and 23rd we spent at Riso with our old friend Herr
Jakobsen and his daughters. The name Riso is applied to a group
of islands (all his property) ninety-nine in number, which carry some
amount of herbage, besides various bare rocks, The amount of bird-
life congregated here in the breeding season is enormous, and some
idea of this may be formed from the fact that in a good year the
owner sends from eight to nine thousand eggs, chiefly Gulls’, to
market. In 1896 we anchored for two or three days in a narrow
passage between two of the islands. The birds soon became accus-
tomed to the presence of the little steamer, and the picture presented
by hundreds of Eider Duck Somateria mollissima, Gulls, &¢., upon land
and water, on a bright calm night, when the much over-praised “ Mid-
night Sun” endeavoured to justify its reputation, was one not easily
to be forgotten.

White-tailed Eagles Haliaétus aldicilla are not extinct here, I am
glad to say, for we saw three or four this year, but they are seldom
allowed to rear their young; and all the nests we visited were old
ones, unoccupied for several years. On the island of North Fulgé
(Bird Island) these Eagles can breed in peace, for the cliffs are so high
and dangerous that none of the natives will descend them on a rope,
though the Government offers a reward for both eggs and young.
This island is the breeding resort of Puffins Fratercula arctica, in
countless numbers, and when on steaming past it in 1896 I fired a
gun several times to make them rise, the reports roused eight White-
tailed Eagles from various parts of the cliffs.

Herr Jakobsen showed us a Starling still in the flesh, Sturnus
vulgaris, he had recently shot, and which he said was the first seen
on the islands. He had no idea what the bird was. On our arrival
at Skaaro two days after, the cooper attached to the whaling establish-
ment had two more Starlings, shot this year and stuffed. He also
had not met with the birds here before, although he knew them well
in the south of Norway where his home was. 1899 was probably the
first year Starlings had extended their range so far north among the

4 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

outer islands. Professor Collett states they were very rare north of
the Lofoten Islands in 1872, although they had been observed at
Tromso in both spring and autumn, Others tell me these birds are
increasing in numbers, and have been pushing northward since Collett
wrote.

Plate 1 shows a Great Black-backed Gull’s nest at Riso containing
one blue and one olive-brown egg.

Both days were beautifully bright and warm. On the afternoon
of the 23rd a rainbow appeared in an almost cloudless sky, and lasted
some time. At the same time a thin white circle of vapour, very
high in the air, parallel with the horizon and half-way between it and
the zenith, ran round three-quarters of the sky, its ends showing rain-
bow colours. The rainbow was below, and probably caused by it.
The whole produced a remarkable effect, but boded no good weather,
a prophecy abundantly fulfilled during the next three days.

The 24th was a day of continual snowstorms, spent in hunting
vainly for Ravens’ nests.

When I woke on the 25th the men were sweeping snow four
inches deep off the decks. We had moved the previous evening to
Skaaré, and .were sorry to learn Herr Gisver and his wife had not
arrived yet. What a contrast to our last visit in 1897! when the
land was covered with grass and flowers; now only snow and water
met the eye. There was little trouble in finding the few Gulls’ eggs
on the island opposite, as will be seen from Plate 2. The birds had
sat on them through the snowstorm of the previous night, and the
nests stood out as black patches on the hillsides. Several Grey Lag-
Geese had nests, one with six eggs, and I was surprised to find a
Pintail Duck Dajila acuta, already the possessor of nine eggs, regard-
less of the inclement season. Plate 4 represents the nest placed
under a mass of dwarf birch, much contorted in its youth by the
weight of winter snows.

After lunch the cooper joined us in a long weary tramp round
the island of Skaard, Ravens’ eggs being the forlorn hope. A six-

"ISAN S.

ASOODS-SV1 AdYD

are a

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 5

hours’ walk through a quick succession of snowstorms, over ground
covered with snow, in which one constantly sank to the waist, may
well be called dreary. All we had for our walk was a sight of two
White-tailed Eagles at close quarters, and of a nest of young Ravens
Corvus corax.

We spent some hours at Hammerfest the next day, and then
steamed on to the Porsanger fjord, where we arrived early on the 27th.
The island of Stor Tamso was in a more backward state than any
place we had visited this year, being almost entirely covered with
great snow-drifts; and the proprietor, Herr Ullick, said that only
the Great Black-backed Gulls had commenced to lay. Yet several
pairs of White Wagtails Motacila alba, had arrived and were searching
for food round the house. We saw these birds at all the places we
landed; they are among the earliest to go north, and their arrival
seems to be little affected by the weather.

Herr Ullick thought we should find less snow towards the head
of the fjord, so we moved up there, and landed to seek a pilot who
could show us an anchorage; but not one of those we met spoke
Norwegian, and some dialect of the Finns seemed to be their only
language. One young woman, who was rather nervous at the
presence of so many strangers, relieved her feelings by pushing the
end of her nose in all directions as she endeavoured to talk; some-
times it was on one cheek, sometimes on the other, then where the
bridge should have been. Nothing but the most flexible indiarubber
would give an adequate idea of that nose. It must not be imagined,
however, I describe this lady as a type of female beauty there !

May 28th brought beautiful weather and really hot sunshine,
which we hoped would soon begin to affect the snow. Large numbers
of birds were on the sea, chiefly Long-tailed Ducks Harelda glacialis.
We saw to-day Scoters, Skuas, Arctic Terns Sterna macrura, Redshank
Totanus calidris, Willow Grouse Lagopus albus, and Fieldfares Zurdus
pilaris, &ec. The only nest was a Great Black-backed Gull’s, with
five eggs. I think the explanation of this most unusual number

6 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

is that the bird laid two, and was then disturbed by a return of sharp
frost; after the frost passed away she commenced to lay again,
knowing the first were useless. The shells of two were cracked in
all directions; all five were slightly incubated. When these eggs
were exhibited at the B. O. Club, it was suggested two birds had
laid in one nest, but the character of this species is not of that
amiable disposition which would lend itself to such an arrangement.

In the evening a Finn came on board who could speak Norsk.
He told us it had been the most severe winter he could remember
in twenty-four years, and that the lakes up the river were still so
frozen that horses and sledges crossed safely. Consequently he felt
sure no Geese or Ducks had laid there yet.

May 29th.—We left our anchorage at 6 am. for Vardo. A stiff
S.E. breeze made the Hxpres so lively it was impossible to cook all
day, so we turned into the Tana fjord and dropped anchor at 8 p.m.
in Finkongkjeilen inlet, where we were able to get some dinner in
peace. This is quite an important little fishing station, and is no
doubt well adapted for that purpose, but it must be one of the most
dreary spots on earth to live in. Imagine a narrow creek, its entrance
facing the N.E., the rocks on either side rising perpendicularly for
two to three hundred feet, and forming almost as abrupt a termination
at the upper end. ‘The sun can never shine into that place except
for an hour or so in the middle of summer as he passes the opening
between the cliffs.

After calling at Vardo for coals and a few stores the captain
wanted, we proceeded on the 31st to the island of Heno, the passage
from Vard6 occupying four and a half hours.

In the Arctic Pilot, p. 46, is the following description: “ Ainovski
Islands. Bol (Great) Ainovski Island is 4 miles westward of Cape
Zernlyanoi; it is about 44 miles broad in each direction, 50 feet high,
and covered with peat and moss. Mal (Little) Ainovski Island lies
south-eastward of Bol Ainovski, and a mile nearer Sredni; it is not so
high, but is also covered with peat and moss. These islands produce

‘bv ADV

“LSAN S.WYONd TWIVINId

*66-¢-Sz wg oSzr “Sb “hh Wy

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND ay

splendid blackberries, reputed the best on the whole coast of Lapland
for size and flavour, which are sent to Kola and St. Petersburgh. A
peculiar kind of duck is found on the islands called Tupik, from the
obtuse formation of the bill.” (On the Admiralty Chart these islands
are named Ainova Island or Great Heno, and Little Ainova or Little
Heno.) In reading up the description of the coast-line to be visited,
the above at once attracted attention. What were these Ducks with
obtuse bills which frequented the islands in sufficient numbers to be
mentioned in the Arctic Pilot? Here was something evidently worth
investigating, and consequently Heno was the first point we made for
on the Russian coast.

The best anchorage for a vessel like the Hxzpres is in a small bay
on the south side of the island, except in s. and s.w. winds, and as the
wind was now N.W. we made for it. The beach was alive with birds,
chiefly waders, searching for food among the heaps of seaweed cast
ashore by the late gales. As stated in the above description, the
greater part of the island is covered with peat, on which grow dense
masses of crowberry Lmpetrum nigrum, now thickly studded with the
black berries of last year. A few small patches of dwarf sallow and
birch grow chiefly on the s.E. part, none of them rising above four
feet from the ground. Here also is the principal piece of fresh water,
a lake several hundred yards in length, which was now entirely
frozen over; Ducks, Gulls, and Skuas stood on the snow-covered ice,
looking very disconsolate. The peat was riddled in all directions
with the burrows of Puffins, but the holes were partly filled with
ice and snow, and showed no signs of having been visited by the
birds this year, nor were any Puffins seen on land. Many of the
holes had been dug out to obtain the eggs and young. Arctic Terns
were here in all directions, delighting us with their graceful flight.
Many seemed to be feeding on the aforesaid berries. Common Gulls
Larus canus were plentiful, and made as much fuss over two or
three empty new nests as if there were hundreds of eggs about.
Great Black-backed Gulls had also commenced their nests on the

8 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

north side of the island. Of Richardson’s Skuas Stercorarius crepidatus,
there were ten or twelve pairs, the greater number of the light
variety; they must have very comfortable quarters here during
the breeding season. ,

Other birds seen on this first visit were Common Hider, Purple
Sandpipers TZringa striata, Turnstones Strepsilas interpres, Dunlin
Tringa alpina, Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis, Lapland Buntings
Calcarius lapponicus, Snow-Buntings Plectrophenax nivalis, Oyster-
catchers Hamatopus ostralegus, Long-tailed Duck, Shag Phalacrocorax
graculus, Velvet Scoters Gdemia fusca, Herring-Gulls, and Black Guil-
lemots Uria grylle. Some bird must often make a meal off the
Puffins and smaller birds, as we constantly came across their feathers
and remains. Quite half the island was still covered with deep snow:
the only signs of renewed life in vegetation being a few angelica
plants throwing up their new growths.

June ist.—It was difficult to realise among our surroundings that
this was the first day of summer. In the morning a keen north
wind brought up a constant succession of snowstorms, and these
continued during the day; the sky thick and murky, and the
general effect like that of a bad day in an English February.
Although anchored under the lee of the island, the continual rolling
became trying after a time, and drove us on land in spite of the
weather. We went to the s.£. part of the island, where more grass
was exposed. The chief excitement of the afternoon was a Pufiin at
the mouth of its hole, and it was clear, from the way birds of this
species circled over the island to-day, they were anxious to commence
nesting. We found the body of a Snowy Owl Myctea scandiaca,
recently picked by Gulls; the wing and tail feathers were heavily
blotched with brown. A Goose that had been feeding here rose at
too great a distance for us to determine its species, as did also two
Hawks. There were certainly more Lapland-Buntings than yesterday,
and far more than afterwards bred on the island; in fact it soon
became clear this island forms a resting-place for migrants, which

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 9

find a supply of food here at a time when their usual summer homes
are still under deep snow. A White Wagtail and a female Goosander
Mergus merganser completed the list of birds not noted yesterday.

June 2nd.—After breakfast we steamed over to the mainland to
examine the condition of Pechenga Gulf or Peisen fjord (on the chart
Pechengi Gulf), which lies nearly due south of Hen, its entrance
well marked by two high hills of barren granite. This fjord pene-
trates nine miles inland in a south-westward direction, but several
sharp bends give protection in all winds, and there are consequently
some good anchorages. Edward Rae published a map of Russian
Lapland in his book, “The White Sea Peninsula,’ and the map is no
doubt accurate as far as those parts which he personally visited are
concerned, but not quite to be relied upon respecting the remainder of
the interior; on it, by the way, the name of the fjord and river we
now wanted to visit is rendered Petshenga. The map shows a series
of five lakes on the course of this river; and as the lines indicating the
limits of growth of fir and birch approach the sea much nearer in this
district than they do to the eastward, we hoped to find a considerable
variety of birds.

Our desire to reach the interior was not to be gratified at present,
for on rounding the corner beyond Devkin bay we saw that all the
upper part of the fjord was still covered with ice; we were therefore
obliged to return and anchor in Devkin bay. This bay lies half-way
up the fjord on the N.w. side, and affords a secure anchorage in all
winds. Close to the shore were two warehouses belonging to the Monas-
tery of St. Triphon, also a house and bath-house for the use of the men
in charge. Two good fishing-boats, of Norwegian build, lay anchored
near. The whole district near this fjord is the property of the
monks, with the fishing and other rights. While the men were busy
refilling the tanks at a stream issuing from under the snow near the
house, I endeavoured to buy a salmon from the head man. A polite
but firm refusal met all my attempts, however; the fish belonged to
the monastery, he said. It was rather tantalising to watch him weigh

ae) BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

two, each about 33 inches long and fine deep-bellied fish. Then a
younger Russian, whose curly black hair stuck out in all directions
from under his cap, put the fish in a sack, the sack on a small sledge,
and the sledge in a little tub of a boat nearly as broad as long;
finally pulling away up the fjord. I did not envy him his trudge over
the sloppy ice, dragging that sledge to the monastery.

Near the house were fifteen to twenty Shore-Larks Otocorys
alpestris, feeding on a small piece of uncovered ground; while two
White Wagtails flitted about from doorstep to water-trough as tame
as London sparrows. The first Merganser Mergus serrator we had
seen this year rose near the shore as we rowed in from the ship.
Except these and a stray Herring-Gull, the place was a desert to-day
as far as bird-life was concerned. We could scarcely expect it to be
otherwise when the whole country, except the Shore-Larks’ patch,
was buried under two or three feet of snow! And this on the 2nd
of June.

After floundering through heavy snow for some distance, we at
last got on to higher ground where the snow was firmer, and from the
top of the ridge a good view was obtained of the country on the west
side of the fjord. In the valley below us were several small lakes
covered with ice and snow, and beyond a series of hills, none more than
400 or 500 feet high, stretched to the horizon; there appeared to be
very little level ground. The only living things seen were some tame
reindeer, obtaining a scanty meal where the wind had partly cleared
the snow from the hillsides. On our return a Finn came on board
with a salmon for sale; the fish, which was in good condition, mea-
sured 44? in. by 9 in. deep, and, after some bargaining, became mine
for five roubles. The thermometer remained near 32° all day, and
the tap of the water-filter on deck was frozen.

On the 3rd we climbed the hills on the east side of the fjord to
obtain a view of its upper end, and were much cheered to see a con-
siderable stretch of open water where the river entered. Still, the
two or three miles of ice between must be strong yet, as two men

Cl ADV

"ONSH ATLLIT NO SNISSNd ONILLAN SNVISSNY

‘66-9-£1 41° O10 << SUS) Vilae ey

Te ena aye |

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 1G

were leading a small flock of sheep over. The only birds seen on the
hills were a female Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus, and a pair of Dotterel
Eudromias morinellus. A Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus passed
over us in the evening; and some Lesser Black-backed Gulls Larus
fuscus came into the bay, the first seen this year.

June 4th.—It has snowed every day since we left the Porsanger,
but to-day eclipsed them all; consequently our rambles on shore were
not prolonged. New birds seen were Redwing Turdus iliacus, Field-
fares, and a Black-throated Diver Colymbus arcticus. We noticed that
some of the birch buds were swelling in spite of the trees being
surrounded by two feet of snow.

June 5th—Having nothing else to do, we steamed across to Little
Hené. This island consists of two parts; one some forty feet high,
the other a low stretch of land little above the present sea-level, and
joined to the first by a large bar of shingle. The whole of the lower
portion appears to be an old beach, the upper parts of which have
been covered with herbage and a few patches of dwarf sallow. There
were large numbers of small birds on the island, of the same species as
seen on Great Heno, the only fresh one being a Shore-Lark. Some of
the Puffins had decided to lay in spite of the weather, for we found five
eges; the fact that four of these were under stones, and the fifth only
six inches inside the hole, was a sure indication of the general condi-
tion of their burrows. The poor little beggars who had been trying
to scratch out fresh holes must have hurt their feet considerably, for
the ground was so frozen it was impossible to dig out a likely hole
with a spade. An Oyster-catcher had three eggs on the beach, and a
few of the Great Black-backed and Herring-Gulls were laying.

In the evening we returned to the mainland, and anchored in
Andarnaia fjord (Andarnaya Gulf in Arctic Pilot), an inlet eastward
of and close to Pechenga Gulf. Andarnaia fjord is 2? miles long
and half a mile wide, with hills rising abruptly from the water on
both sides, so that a landing can only be effected at a few points.
The Admiralty chart shows three salt-water lakes at the head of the

12 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

inlet ; but this is an error, as there are only two. These are connected
with the fjord and each other by narrow channels, through which the
water flowed so rapidly at half-tide that a boat could not be taken
up against the stream.

At the head of the fjord a pair of Ravens had a nest on the face
of a cliff in a position which appeared inaccessible without a rope;
but as we could see the young ones were nearly fledged, there was no
temptation to attempt to climb. After waiting half-an-hour for the
tide to slacken, we rowed across the first lake and entered the second ;
the greater part of the latter was still covered with ice, and the hills
around showed one unbroken front, without any opening to a lake
beyond. There was no sign of human habitation on the shores of
either fjord or lakes, although it was clear men came here for firewood.
An Oyster-catcher had three eggs on the shingle bar between the
lakes, and several Mergansers passed us. Small birds come to breed
later in the season, as we saw the old nest of a Redpoll in a birch near
the upper lake.

On the 7th we crossed over to Great Hené, and found the thaw
had made distinct progress since our visit a week ago. There were
now a few pools of open water, formed from melted snow which could
not escape through the frozen earth; these were occupied by Long-
tailed Duck, &c., as the lake still showed one unbroken surface of ice.
Large flocks of Dunlins were feeding on the shore, far more than
ultimately nested here. A few of the Snow-Buntings had paired, and
one cock carried some building material. The only fresh species
noted to-day was the Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus hyperboreus,
a few of these birds being on the sea when we arrived. Of eggs we
only found Oyster-catchers (4-3), Meadow Pipit (4), Eiders (3-5),
and some odd Gulls’ eggs. We returned at night to Devkin bay.

June 8th—The Finn, Ivan, from whom I had purchased the
salmon, came on board, and took a great interest in our coloured
pictures of birds likely to be found here; but evidently knew very
little about them, even the geese and ducks. At last he confessed he

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 43

shot birds, “that good”; to eat them, “better”; but he never
troubled what they were like. He said he thought no one in the
valley knew more about birds than he did. All we could learn from
him was that he had found a swan’s nest two years ago by one
of the lakes above the monastery. The Russian also came, with the
middle cut (8 or 10 lbs.) out of a splendid salmon, as a “present.”
He declined any payment, but I insisted on his accepting a bucket of
potatoes, also as a “present”; whereat he laughed and patted his
stomach in anticipation of the good things to come.

We went up the fjord to see what progress the open water was
making at the top end; there was certainly more than a week ago,
but quite two miles of ice yet remained between us and it; and there
was no passage along the shores, as is often the case with ice affected
by tides. Both male and female Ptarmigan were on the hill near
where we saw the latter on the 3rd; but no nest could be found,
although we searched a considerable area carefully. Five Redshanks,
feeding on the tide line, were the first seen here this year; and the
first Hooded Crow passed near us. Our Russian friend also brought
us a Black-throated Diver, which had been caught in the salmon nets,
a not uncommon fate we afterwards learnt. A couple of Buffon’s
Skua Stercorarius parasiticus, which I had shot right and left as they
rose from a low hill, turned out to be both females; much to our
surprise, for they had been sitting close together and apart from the
others. The eggs in their ovaries were enlarging, one being slightly
more advanced.

The gth brought dreadful weather, a heavy north wind, constant
snowstorms, and fog; on such a day the cabin was the best place,
and we stayed there.

June 1oth.—The Finn women brought two Divers from their nets,
one a mature Black-throat, the other an immature example which, from
its yellow bill, was, I think, Colymbus adamsi. Buffon’s Skuas are
evidently gathering here in waiting, like ourselves, for the up-country
districts to be cleared from snow, as we counted sixteen this morning.

14 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

Two Richardson’s Skuas were about the ship, which afterwards nested
on the hill near.

As the crew wanted some stores and we were anxious to get our
home letters, we returned to Vardo in the evening.

On the 12th we spent a very pleasant day exploring the island off
Vardé, on which the new lighthouse stands. It is a comparatively
small island, yet we noted seventeen species of birds, most of which
were breeding there. One piece of cliff, crowded with Kittiwakes’
(Rissa tridactyla) nests, formed a very pretty scene of bird life; for a pair
of Ravens had built their nest under an overhanging shelf, in the
centre of the colony. Several Kittiwakes had nests within six feet of
the Ravens’ abode, regardless of the fact that six or eight recently
picked skeletons of their relatives lay at the foot of the cliff. The
young Ravens could be seen plainly from below; and the two old birds
flew round, attacking any Kittiwakes who approached too near the
nest, and were attacked in turn when they trespassed near other nests.
At last both birds settled on a point of rock at the top of the cliff,
and evidently gave us their views on our intrusion in the most
emphatic language they knew, the male projecting the feathers on the
throat until these looked like a large beard, while the female elevated
all the feathers on the top of her head, exactly as my tame Ravens,
Ralph and Susan, did, when arguing a point with me or between them-
selves.”

June 13th found us back at Little Heno. Other disturbers of

1 These latter birds, with two others, were brought back from Norway in 1896, from
a nest on an island near Tromsd6. They were rather subdued by the voyage across the
North Sea, but on reaching terra firma their appetites and voices returned in redoubled
power, and at York their demands for food could be heard over the greater part of the
platform. Ralph soon developed a power of talking, but without discretion, as one of his
earliest escapades was to inform the Vicar’s wife she was a rascal, and it was distinctly
unkind of him to ask the under-gardener, whose duty it was to clean out the birds’
enclosure, and who occasionally took more than was good for him,—‘‘ Charles, are you
drunk?” The bird would sit on my walking stick and say, “ You are a naughty boy,”
quite as clearly as a human being. His ideas on domestic discipline were drastic, and
when Susan offended he would hold her leg in one foot while he laid on punishment
with his beak. In the spring of 1900 he considered it was time they commenced “ house-

mii)
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‘41 ADV

"AIND VWONAHOSd ‘YSAIY

VNOHdIYL

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 15

bird life had arrived before us, and are depicted in Plate 5. The
party consisted of three youths, the eldest about seventeen, and three
girls, who appeared to be from eighteen to twenty-two. They had
drawn their boat up the beach, and were encamped in one end of it,
protected only by a piece of old sailcloth. Although they had a
small stove, the arrangement was rather airy for the weather we had
lately enjoyed. In front of the canvas is shown a heap of Puffins
the people had been catching. This was done by spreading old fish-
nets of large mesh over those parts of the ground where the burrows
were plentiful; and the birds seemed to think because their heads
would go through, their bodies could follow. The upper snow-drift
shown in plate must have been still over twenty feet deep, as it covered
all the face of a cliff, except the small portion shown on the sky-
line.

Our chief prize here was a Turnstone’s nest with four fresh eggs,
on the low spit of land previously described. The nest was placed in
a patch of dwarf sallow ten inches high, and near the edge of a
bank; the slight depression being lined with a few dry grasses and
dead leaves. This was almost the only nest of the species found
without long watching; for, remembering our experiences in 1893, I
searched the scrub in hope that a Turnstone might have occupied it.

We afterwards crossed to Great Hené; here a party of nine had
recently landed in search of birds and eggs, and were seated round a
fire, drinking tea. They put a large piece of sugar in their mouths

keeping,” but Susan differed ; and the argument waxed so warm on one occasion he threw
her bodily into an old coal-hole under their cage. And yet on most questions of tit-bits
and similar matters Susan generally had the best of him by sheer superior feminine ability.
Alas! an acute attack of inflammation, or some poisonous substance, carried him off in the
autumn of 1900, I gave another male bird to my brother; this one also developed con-
siderable powers of talking, although he died earlier than Ralph. The fourth bird was
given to a lady friend, but unfortunately escaped outside the grounds one Sunday
evening and was killed by some loafer. Susan is still in good health. And now for the
reason of this long history. Both male birds talked well; the female has (1904) only
acquired a few whistling notes, and to say, ‘How are you?” and a friend tells me that
his Raven, which he believed to be a female, never showed any disposition to talk. It
would be interesting to know whether the observations of others confirm the above sup-
position that male birds are more ready to imitate human speech than females.

16 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

before drinking, not into the cup as our custom is. If the men
were Russians, as they stated, they were far the dirtiest specimens I
ever saw.

There was a great change since our last visit four days ago; the
snow-drifts were now melting rapidly, and the ground was thawing,
while large pools of water were forming in many places, but the lake
was still covered with ice. Dunlins were busy in all directions, and
crept about through the grass like mice within a few yards of us; a
careful search only revealed nests hollowed out, but none lined as yet.
The Puffins had now commenced to lay in earnest, and were here in
thousands on sea and land. I have little doubt these are the “ducks
with bills of an obtuse formation, called Tupik,” described in the
Arctic Pilot ; while the “ blackberries” are multeber, which grow very
plentifully here. We saw a number of Razorbills Alca torda, over the
island, who appeared to be nesting in holes like the Puffins, but did
not succeed in finding any of their eggs.

New birds seen to-day were a Ruff Machetes pugnax, a pair of
Wigeon Mareca penelope, and some Ringed Plover Xgialitis hiaticola ;
the first egg of Richardson’s Skua this season was found near the
shore among crowberry.

In the evening we steamed over to Pechenga gulf, and rejoiced to
see large quantities of ice coming out to sea. There was still a con-
siderable amount of ice in the upper portion of the fjord, but it was
now so rotten and broken up we forced the ship through without
much difficulty, and at last were safely anchored off the mouth of the
Triphona river (Trifonovka River on Admiralty chart), the highest
point to which a ship can go. At high tide this anchorage is quite
14 miles from the head of the fjord, but the whole of that distance is
filled up with detritus brought down by the river Pechenga, and is
only navigable for small boats from half to full tide. We were the
first to reach the top of the fjord by sea this year. The day had been
cloudy, with slight rain ; but in the evening the weather cleared, soon
after midnight the sun was again shining, and the air was full of the

‘Ot ADV

“ADVTTIA GNV YSAIY VONANOAd

*60-9-91 “WweD SrIE ° Se “VP 7

‘ZL ALVIg

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 17

songs and calls of birds, while the sea was so calm that the reflection
of the hills was almost as clear as the reality above.

June 14th was spent in exploring the Triphona river, but the
snow was so deep and soft that we scarcely walked a mile up its
course. The state of the country will be best realised from Plate 6,
which represents the river where it is attected by the tide; the stream
above is impassable by boats, being little more than a large brook.
Near the mouth of the river were some cottages, surrounded by en-
closed grass land which had been well manured recently. It is on such
spots as this that all the small birds are to be found in backward
seasons like that of 1899. Red-spotted Blue-throats Cyanecula sueciea,
Temminck’s Stints Zringa temmincki, and Willow Wrens Phylloscopus
trochilus, were common; and White Wagtails, Meadow-Pipits, Red-
shanks, Golden Plover Charadrius pluvialis, and Whimbrel Nuwmenius
pheopus were seen, while a Cuckoo Cuculus canorus was only heard.
About a mile from the houses we found a Hooded Crow’s nest in a
birch tree; and had the satisfaction of poking out three young with
quill-feathers just showing. I never spare the nest of this bird, for,
as in the case of our House-Sparrow, it is difficult to find much
evidence of its usefulness. The lining of the nest was made of rein-
deer-hair felted together, quite two inches thick, and forming a warm
bed for the little rascals. Divers—frozen out from the lakes—and
Long-tailed Ducks were very plentiful on the fjord; and their cries
were so noisy at times during the night that there might almost have
been a football match in the distance !

June 15th.—A halo round the sun yesterday, rain to-day. A
solar halo is even a surer forecast of bad weather than a lunar one, as
I have unfortunately often proved. We rowed up to the head of
the fjord, and attempted to make our way up the river, but it was
covered with heavy ice, and obliged us to land at a small village.
The principal building here belongs to the monastery, and forms a
house of rest for the monks when arriving or departing by sea.

Round the house are stables, carriage-houses, and a warehouse filled
B

18 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

with flour and other stores for sale to the peasants. A telegraph
station has recently been established here, from which messages could
be despatched to Norway, Archangel, and intervening stations.

After interviewing two or three young monks, and finding that none
of them understood anything besides Russian and Finnish, we went
to the telegraph station; here a pleasant young fellow spoke a mixture
of High and Low German combined with Norwegian—a complete
jumble. However, we learnt from him that horses and carriages could
be obtained to take us to the upper and principal monastery, 25 versts
(17 miles) distant. We also found a Norwegian who had been engaged
here the last two years as head boat-builder, and was turning out some
very good work, dilapidated old caricature of a man though he was.

A walk of two miles through much snow and water brought us
to the original monastery founded by Saint Triphon. On the way
we passed a large brick-kiln belonging to the monks; two sizes of
bricks were being made, both differing from those usual in England.
The clay was obtained from a large glacial deposit close to, which had
been exposed by a small river, a tributary of the Pechenga. Great
stacks of timber surrounded the kiln, the produce of some acres of
well-wooded country.

At the time of our visit the principal building appeared to be
empty. It was a well-constructed house, built up of large pine trees
laid horizontally. One or two monks were living in a small cottage
near. Two churches completed the group, the first a small low
building of considerable age, and the second a larger one, square, with
octagonal roof covered with sheet-metal painted green. It was here
we first discovered what an absolute fraud our pilot was as a Russian
interpreter, the work for which he had been principally engaged. He
knew very little more Russian than we did, and generally spoke to the
natives in English! for his brain found considerable difficulty in sorting
out the various odds and ends of languages he had acquired. A
pleasant Russian, clad only in shirt and trousers in spite of the heavy
rain, showed us the churches; but of course we could learn nothing

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 1g

from him about them. ‘The larger church had been erected over the
ashes of the monks killed by the Swedes in 1590, and contained a
number of icons and pictures. One of the latter, protected by a
mahogany case and glass, was well painted and very pleasing in colour,
with the finish of an old Dutch picture.

The ice on the river had just broken up for several hundred yards,
and the floating masses were being piled up below by the current, form-
ing a dam which raised the level of the river a yard during our short
stay. The upper reaches were still covered with ice as far as we could
see from a hill near. On returning to the village on the fjord we had
more time to devote to the birds, which were swarming on the manure-
heaps and open ground round the houses. Unfortunately we had left
the guns on board, for one of the first birds which attracted attention
was, I feel sure, a Petchora Pipit, Anthus gustavi. It allowed us to
approach within fifteen yards, and to watch it for some time through
our glasses; a larger and handsomer bird than the Meadow-Pipit, with
the breast more heavily striped. The next day, when we had guns, the
bird was gone. We also noted a House-Sparrow Passer domesticus, a
parasite of civilised man we scarcely expected to meet with here,
Grey-headed Wagtails Motactla viridis, and Red-throated Pipits Anthus
cervinus.

Our return journey occupied forty minutes, for though the tide
was with us some time was wasted by running aground on sand-bars.
A bank of sand forms the left side of the bay for some distance, and
is composed of stratified layers deposited at an angle of 45°, covered
by two or three other beds of sand laid horizontally. The lower layers
have probably been deposited in the same manner as those we saw in
process of formation in Novaya Zemlya in 1897.

June 16th.—To-day we took our guns to the village, but quite
two-thirds of the birds had disappeared ; we secured specimens of the
House-Sparrow, Grey-headed Wagtail (male and female), Lapland
Bunting, and Whimbrel. A man at the monks’ house objected to
my shooting the Sparrow on the roof, so I persuaded the bird to go

=

20 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

outside the enclosure. Only two were seen at this time, but early in
July a pair had young under the eaves. The eggs in the ovary of the
female Wagtail had commenced to enlarge. We afterwards walked
up to the monastery to take some photographs; and saw several
Fieldfares about, but could find no nests. A Cuckoo flew close
to us.

Plate 7 represents part of a village on the bank of the Pechenga,
through which we passed. All the inhabitants we saw looked as well-
fed and comfortable as those of our English villages.

As it was obvious that the state of the country and woods would
not allow of our penetrating into the interior for nearly a fortnight, we
decided to occupy the time in exploring the coast to the south-east ;
and steamed down to Devkin bay in the afternoon. Soon after our
arrival the Russian came on board and presented us with a fine salmon
of about 35 lbs.; of course we gave him presents in return, still it was
clear the salmon was the result of a “kind thought” far more than
from any expectation of what he was to receive. We got to like that
man very much—a pleasant genial soul. |

The Buffon’s Skuas had now all left this part, probably for the
interior ; and a pair of Richardson’s Skua had two eggs slightly in-
cubated close to the spot where I had shot the former on the 8th.
The nest was merely a saucer-shaped depression made by the birds,
without any lining beyond the lichen &c., originally growing on the
spot. The Dotterels, like the Buffons, had moved on; and in their
place were some Blue-throated Warblers, not seen here before.

June 17th.—We crossed to Great Heno in the morning, and spent
eight hours on the island, with results scarcely as good as we hoped for.
We found four nests with eggs of Richardson’s Skua; in two pairs of
birds both parents had white breasts, one pair were dark coloured, and
of the last pair one of the birds was light, while the other was dark.
Other eggs found were those of Meadow Pipit (six), Common Gull (the
first. this year), Great Black-backed Gull, Eider, Arctic Tern, and Black
Guillemot. We saw a Blue-throated Warbler here for the first time

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to-day. Vegetation had made a decided start in growth, and was
more advanced than anything we had seen round Pechenga fjord.

After dinner we steamed to the N.w. point of the Ribatchi or
fishermen’s Peninsula (Ribachi, Arctic Pilot and chart; Ribatschi,
E. Rae), and anchored in the harbour of Vaida- guba (Vaida Bay Arctic
Pilot ; Vaid Bay, chart; Vaidda Gtba, E. Rae). This place, founded
in 1864 by a colony of Norwegians, seems to be a prosperous fishing-
station, and three sea-going vessels were at anchor, besides a number of
fishing boats; the captain of one of the former told us he was from
Middlesborough, with a cargo of salt. Among the houses on shore
were two or three good warehouses, a well-built post-office, and a
telegraph station.

We landed as soon as the anchor was down, and walked over the
hill towards the N.w.; a bare, desolate country with little vegetation
except lichens. All the small pools were coated with ice, and the
surface of the snow was frozen; a fact on which we presumed, and
consequently went through into two feet of snow and water, soaking
both arms and legs. The rest of the return march was at “ quick
step. The only birds I find noted in my diary were a pair of Turn-
stones, which we watched for half-an-hour and came to the conclusion
they had no nest as yet.

June 18th.—We landed at noon on the south side of the bay and
walked for some miles over the country between the sea and the hills.
Birds were numerous, but the only nest seen was a Shore-Lark’s, with
one egg. Blue-throats and Lapland Buntings were common; and we
also saw Snow-Buntings, Meadow-Pipits, White Wagtails, Shore-Larks,
Golden Plover, Turnstones, Dunlins, Ringed Plovers, Redshanks,
Purple Sandpipers, Hider Ducks, Arctic Terns, and in the harbour
some Gulls, which were too far off for identification. Thickets of
sallow and birch grew in some of the marshy parts; but nothing
approaching the dignity of a tree was to be seen. There was also
more herbage on this side than on the country traversed last night ;
but neither grass nor scrub showed any signs of green yet. We saw

:..

22 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

six or eight lemmings and a toad to-day, the latter the first of its
species | remember having seen in the north.

In the afternoon we steamed to Zip-Navolok (Tzuip navolok,
Arctic Pilot; Sibt Navolok, E. Rae), a small bay close to the N.E.
corner of the Ribatchi peninsula, which affords good anchorage in
all but s.z. winds. At one time this was a prosperous fishing station,
and Governor Engelhardt states’ that as many as 1000 men then
frequented it in the summer; but the fish deserted the locality, and
the men followed them to other more favoured grounds. The few
inhabitants left appeared to be chiefly of Norwegian origin. One,
who acted as postmaster, had caught 300 seals during the last winter,
and another man had secured 200.

We landed after dinner and walked across a large marshy district
to the coast on the n.E. side. There were many birds about, especially
Arctic Terns, Dunlins, and Red-necked Phalaropes, but they did not
appear to have nested yet. At the upper end of the marshes we
saw three “grey” Geese, and watching them was a grey or silver fox,
the first I had seen alive. For quite half the distance between the
two coasts the land is covered by great sand dunes, arranged in long
rolling ridges.

June i19th.—We first rowed over to Anikiev Island, a bare
desolate spot clothed only on its highest parts with a little grass,
and composed of a dark grey schist pitched up till the strata is
almost vertical. The rock has been split by the frost in many places,
into pieces almost as thin as roofing slates. Near the centre of the
island is a large natural slab of rock, on which are engraved many of
the names of ancient navigators (chiefly Norse) who have called here.
The oldest inscription is said to be dated 1510, but the earliest we
could decipher was 1615.

After tramping over most of the island and finding nothing of
ornithological interest, we crossed to the mainland and walked up
the south side of the Anikievka river, a small stream entering the

1 « A Russian Province of the North,” p. 124.

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 28

sea near the centre of the bay. For the first one or two miles the
country was all covered with sand, and carpeted in most parts by a
thick growth of crowberry. We first found two nests of Richardson’s
Skua, each with two fresh eggs; one pair of birds were both black ;
the other two were both white-breasted. Then after some trouble we
located a Buffon’s Skua on the higher ground with one egg. When
the bird knew we had found the nest, it sat down twenty yards off,
as if on another nest. This was the only attempt made to lure us
away. There was absolutely no nest beyond a slight depression the
bird had made in the crowberry. Both species of birds often nest on
this plant, and their eggs harmonise well with its colours.

At the highest point reached we noticed a curious circumstance ;
there had recently been a great rush of water from the higher lands,
cutting trenches out of the snow-drifts several yards wide and two to
three feet deep. This water had deposited the snow in the valley in
broad stretches like sand. Many of the incidents of a northern thaw
are so different from those we observe in England, it is difficult to
realise them. The river here was a strong clear stream some three
feet deep, running over a solid bed of ice formed during the
winter.

The following species were noted at Zip-Navolok: White Wagtail,
Meadow-Pipit, Snow-Bunting, Lapland Bunting, Shore-Lark, Raven,
Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo, Grey Goose (sp.?), Hider Duck,
Dotterel, Golden Plover, Oyster-catcher, Red-necked Phalarope,
Dunlin, Temminck’s Stint, Arctic Tern, Great Black-backed Gull,
Richardson’s Skua, Buffon’s Skua, and Black Guillemot.

June 20th.—On leaving Zip-Navolok we steamed down the coast
towards the south, and after passing Sharapov point (Sharanov on the
chart) came to a cliff 500 feet high, which forms the s.E. extremity
of the Ribatchi peninsula. Here was established a large colony of
Kittiwakes, among which were a few Guillemots and Razorbills. The
cliff, with its mass of bird life, and a fair-sized waterfall coming down
its face, formed a pretty picture. Not one among all the Kittiwakes’

24 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

nests into which we could see contained three eggs, although several
clutches of two were much incubated.

The first bay and valley after passing this cliff is called Korabel-
naya bay (Korabelni on chart); as the rivulet appeared on the beach
from under an arch of snow, which covered its course as far as we
could see up the valley, we went on to Mocha bay. Here were two
rough huts on either side of a stream which brought down a con-
siderable body of water. Landing on the east side we struck up
country, following the edges of the terraces to avoid the snow. Most
of the valley was still under deep snow, and the river either rushed
down between walls of snow, or widened out into large pools where
its course was choked with loose ice; the whole a most desolate scene
for the day before midsummer. In one of the cliffs forming the side
of the valley we found a Rough-legged Buzzard’s nest containing
three fresh eggs only slightly marked. Higher up a Buffon’s Skua
seemed interested, so we sat down to watch it; after waiting some
time, it flew to a piece of rising ground, clear of but surrounded by
snow, and settled on a nest with one egg. Other birds seen here
were Redwing, Blue-throat, Meadow-Pipit, Wheatear Sazxicola enanthe,
White Wagtail, Lapland Bunting, and Willow-Grouse.

June 21st—After landing to take some photographs, we went
to Eina bay, the next inlet towards the west; and walked up the
west bank of the rivulet. There was much snow here. A pair of
Buffon’s Skua on the upper ground had not nested yet, in fact the
only nest found was a Ringed Plover's on the beach, with two eggs.
The species noted in addition to those at Mocha were Red-throated
Pipit, Shore-Lark, Raven, Falcon (sp.?), Long-tailed Duck, Oyster-
catcher, Dunlin, Temminck’s Stint, Golden Plover, and Red-necked
Phalarope.

We next steamed to the head of Motovski gulf, where it becomes
an almost land-locked bay, and would be a first-class harbour if there
were only water enough. The place was named Novaya Zemlya by
Admiral Liitke (in the Russian service), who did so much good work

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during the years 1821, 1822, and 1824 in exploring the coasts of the
country more commonly known to us by that name. In the last
Arctic Pilot it is rendered Novoi Zemli, and is generally known to the
Russian traders as Ozerko (small lake). At one time this harbour
was favourably considered by the authorities as the site of the official
port for the Murman coast, but it was decided to be at too great a
distance from the open sea and the main line of traffic. The bay is
surrounded by low hills, still covered with deep snow at the time of
our visit, a few black lines showing across the general whiteness and
marking the edges of terraces. There are only three or four huts,
scarcely worthy of the name of houses, here; but even the few people
they contain are rapidly exhausting the supply of birch for firewood.
We hardly saw a bush with wood large enough to burn, much less a
tree; and the inhabitants were collecting the stumps they had left
when cutting down the trees. As the latter operation had been done
in the winter, three to four feet of each tree remained buried in the
snow. In a few years peat or imported wood will be the only fuel
available.

We landed after dinner and walked across the isthmus to Voloko-
vaya bay, an inlet of the Varanger fjord. This narrow neck of land—
scarcely a mile wide, connects the great Ribatchi peninsula with the
mainland, and is a low marshy tract but little raised above the present
sea-level; some pools near its centre send their waters into both seas.
We walked most of the way on a very distinct ancient beach made of
water-worn stones, and one or two other beaches could be plainly
traced at different levels; so that Ribatchi was probably an island
within comparatively recent times. The White Sea Pilot for 1887
states that Ribatchi was formerly shown on old charts as an island,
but gives no particulars respecting the charts. The little birches
showed scarcely a sign of breaking into bud; the grass was brown and
dead, covered in all directions by last year’s crop, which the lemmings
had mown. The Buffon’s Skuas take heavy toll of the latter, hawking
over the ground for them and hovering at times like Kestrels; they

26 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

are most graceful birds. We only found two nests, a Shore-Lark’s
and an Oyster-catcher’s, each with two eggs.

June 22nd.—Leaving “ Novaya Zemlya” at 10 am., we steamed
down to Litza fjord (Litsa on the chart), the head of which was
reached four hours later. This fjord is much more picturesque than
the Pechenga; the passage winds somewhat, and is narrow in places,
with fine precipitous rocky bluffs rising several hundred feet above the
sea. All available pieces of low land are occupied by huts, most of
them built of turf. The valley, through which the river Litza flows
into the fjord, is a huge trough between two ranges of hills, the lower
portion of which has been filled up in parts with deposits of sand to a
height of 170 feet above the present sea-level. We saw these sand
deposits stretching for miles up the west side of the river, forming a
level plateau cut by ravines, where small brooks came down to the
main stream and had excavated V-shaped hollows 50 feet deep and
100 feet across. Rae’s map shows a fair-sized lake in the course of
the Litza, so we rowed to the east bank to make inquiries respecting
it. After securing the boat to the snow-foot which covered the whole
of the river-bank, we went up to a group of huts; the owner of the
only wooden one spoke a little Norsk, but could tell us nothing about
the lake. So, borrowing his boat to cross a side stream half a mile up,
we started to explore the east side of the valley. For a short distance
the country was dry and the birch had all been cut for fuel. Then
we came to a stretch of marsh in which grew a quantity of birch, some
of them twenty feet high. This wood was full of the songs of birds,
and we soon found nests of Redwings and Fieldfares. Plate 8 shows
one of the former containing six eggs. The snow here was quite a
foot deep, and where it had melted, the ground was mostly under
water—not pleasant walking. I expect the marsh dries in summer,
or the trees would not look so healthy. Blue-throats were singing on
all sides, and I shot specimens of Mealy Redpoll Linota linaria, Reed-
Bunting Emberiza scheniclus, and Willow-Wren; in fact I never
remember any wood in the north where birds were so plentiful as

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 27

they were here, nor did we by any means exhaust its treasures on
this first visit.

After leaving the marsh we climbed a steep hill—an offshoot
from the range bordering the valley—through which the river, or its
predecessor the glacier, had cut its channel. Then, down to two
decent houses inhabited by Russians, of whose language Einar, our
Norwegian, understood very little. Temminck’s Stints and other
birds, including of course White Wagtails, were about the houses.
Next, more wooded marsh without birds, although it looked just as
suitable for them as the first; and then another bluff. In the hills
we passed on our side of the river were three pairs of Rough-legged
Buzzards, two of whose nests we found. One of these was inaccessible
without a rope; the other contained two well-marked and fresh eggs.
This nest had taken us above the tree-line, and we continued round
the hill for some distance until we obtained a good view for several
miles up the valley, but no trace of a lake could we see. Below us
was a strong rapid in the river, and several more rapids were in sight,
all of them sufficient to stop a boat. The sun now came out for a
short time and lit up the scene; the hills, where clear from snow,
showed a pretty faint emerald-green colour, owing to their universal
covering of reindeer-moss and lichens. All the hills in sight had
been ground down and rounded by ice, their tops were covered by
erratics in all directions. As it occupied two and a half hours to
walk back to the fjord, we had probably penetrated about seven miles
up the river, and could see over three more, so that there is no lake
within ten miles of the sea, and from what the natives told us I feel
sure none exists higher up on this river. I have on several occasions
been taken long “ wild-goose ” chases after lakes which never existed,
and I think the mistake arose from the natives using the same term
for a long deep reach in the river—a salmon pool in fact

as they do
for a lake,

On arriving at the shore we found the Finn’s boat 150 yards
from water, and could see our own in the distance, quite half a mile

28 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

from its proper element, so we decided to borrow the Finn’s till
next high tide. After a rather exciting time of sticking fast on
sand-bars, shooting rapids, &c., we at last reached the ship at
11.30 p.m.

June 23rd.—As we landed on the west bank to-day three White-
tailed Eagles rose off the hill above us, and I saw at once the nest on
the face of the cliff, but after climbing to a point forty feet above the
nest it proved to be empty. There were far fewer birds on this side
of the river. <A pair of Willow-Grouse rose six feet off, and both of
the birds were in much more advanced plumage than those seen on
the Ribatchi peninsula; the red on the cock bird extending over most
of his back, while the only white visible on the female, as she flew off,
was on the wing-tips.

After lunch we crossed to the east side to visit the Finn. His
eldest boy had shown us a nest yesterday which he had removed two
or three days before, when spreading manure. He had taken only the
inner lining and placed it in a piece of short grass beside a little
mound, where it lay quite exposed, yet the bird had followed it some
yards and laid two more eggs. ‘To-day I shot the bird as it left,
a Red-throated Pipit, and saw she had laid a sixth egg. Going on
to the wood visited yesterday, we found the nest of a Redstart
Futicilla phenicurus, containing six eggs, and shot the female; the nest
was placed on the top of a rotten birch, and was made of moss and
fine grass, lined with a few feathers. We also shot to-day the first
Brambling Fringilla montifringilla (a male) we had seen this year ;
also a.young Siberian Jay Perisoreus infaustus, the remainder of the
family to whom the latter belonged being scattered through the wood.
This species generally nests in April, when the country is inaccessible
except on skz. Both old and young Siberian Jays are endowed with
an unlimited supply of curiosity, but very little shyness; I remember
a family once in Norway spending half-an-hour in the trees within
a few yards of my wife, apparently deeply interested in her knitting,
and keeping up a constant chatter. Many of the trees here had been

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 29

bored with holes that looked like the work of Woodpeckers or Tits,
but we saw no species of either.

June 24th.—Although work was only finished at 1.30 a.m. we were
up at seven, as we had arranged for the Finn to take us to some lakes.
Egeg-blowing, skinning, photographs, diaries, cooking, &c., leave very
few idle hours in the north. It is only “the unacquainted” who
express surprise when a small party fail to bring back also a full
collection of the plants, insects, and rocks, with other trifles! On our
arrival at the house we found the whole family in their best things,
and I have reproduced the group (Plate g). As it turned out the
man was of some interest to English ornithologists. Conversation was
carried on under great difficulties, as everything had to be translated
twice, and our pilot the interpreter was a duffer! However, we
gradually learnt that the Finn had been bird-nesting with an English-
man before, more than forty years ago. In this country? No, he
had only lived here about twenty-five years. Before that his home
was near the top of the Gulf of Bothnia. The Englishman came there
several years, and this man worked for him eighteen months, driving
his sledge, collecting eggs, &c. He went on to tell how the English-
man once paid twelve roubles for six little eggs. “Far too much.”
I suspected these were among the first eggs of the Waxwing Ampelis
garrulus known in England—for without doubt the Englishman was
John Wolley, although the man could not recollect his name; but it
was impossible to get any clear description of the bird through that
pilot. However, the matter was set at rest when the man came on
board, for he recognised a coloured copy of Mr. Dresser’s plate of this
species as the parent of these dearly purchased eggs. How differently
we value things. These eggs were perhaps among those sold at
Stevens’ Auction Rooms on April 2nd, 1859, for 43 each. A most
interesting account of Wolley’s discovery of the breeding of the
Waxwing will be found in the Jbis for 1861, pp. 92-106, by Pro-
fessor Alfred Newton. With a good interpreter we should doubtless

have extracted many other interesting details from Johan Regina

30 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

respecting the Arctic life of one of England’s leading ornithological
discoverers.

Johan took us a long walk over the hills, during which we
visited three good-sized lakes, the first 300 feet above sea-level, the
second 400 feet, and the third not more than 100 feet. All three
lakes were said to contain much fish, and many Ducks to nest round
the second in favourable years; but at the time of our visit all three
were still covered with heavy ice, and most of the hills surrounding
them by deep snow-drifts. Johan walked out forty yards on the
lowest lake to pick up a Long-tailed Duck I had shot. And this on
June 24th! Truly a most unfortunate season for a voyage of ex-
ploration (Plate 10). We found to-day the first nest of the Blue-
throat, with four eggs. It was placed on a bank facing south, and
was made of moss outside, well lined with fine grass. Another first
record was a Mealy Redpoll’s nest with one egg, so that the small
birds were making an effort to build in spite of the season. The
only other birds noted during the walk were Whimbrel and Golden
Plover.

In the evening Johan came on board for some plaster for his
wife's leg, a cut having gathered and made a nasty place. I sent a
supply of boracic ointment as the least likely to cause further mis-
chief, which is the great point in amateur surgery. We had an
interesting time at night watching the birds on the sand-bars at low
tide; among them were four or five male Goosanders and a pair of
Godwits, which we believed to be the Bar-tailed, Zimosa lapponica.

The day had been beautiful, with bright hot sun and scarcely a
cloud till 1 am., the first really fine day of the season. As Mid-
summer Day was already past, it may be worthy of note that during
the last three days we had seen three flowers, and a small piece of
birch, growing over a warm rock, had green leaves; other vegetation
showed scarcely a sign of life. And this was not Grinnell Land, but
lat. 60) 25,

June 25th.—The morning was bright, with a N.E. wind. Leaving

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND an

our anchorage at 11.30 a.m., we steamed down the fjord and round
the Ribatchi peninsula for Heno island; but after passing Tzuip
point fog came on. The captain ran by compass till 6 p.m., when
some small islets showed close ahead, and as neither he nor the pilot
were clear what they were, we were obliged to put down the anchor
and stop there for the remainder of the night. Fortunately, there
was neither wind nor swell, so we lay in comfort.

June 26th.—The fog having lifted in the early hours of the
morning, we reached Great Heno at 11. As a variety of things were
wanted both for the crew and ourselves, I decided to camp on the
island while the steamer went to Vardo for them. Our kit was all on
shore and the tent up in less than an hour; the spot selected being
near the south shore and close to a large pool which afforded a chance
for a bathe at last, while a snow-patch provided drinking water. The
weather was glorious, a cool pleasant breeze and brilliant sun without
a cloud in the sky. What a change in the aspect of the island since
our last visit nine days before! Then the ground was hard frozen,
half its surface under snow, and the lake a sheet of ice; now the
water was sparkling in the sunshine, and scores of ducks swimming
on its surface. Some patches of marsh-marigold were in flower, and
others were pushing up both leaves and buds so rapidly, we could see
a distinct change in twenty-four hours. Large areas promised soon
to be masses of that beautiful yellow flower Trollius europeeus, while in
others Archangelica officinalis was throwing up its new growths, and
already covering the ground in parts. This last plant grows so
luxuriantly here that.it allows no rivals where it has taken possession,
and smothers everything over areas thirty or forty yards across; some
of last year’s flower stalks were seven and eight feet long. And the
birds too had not been idle, for we found the eggs of eleven species
during the day.

For some hours after our arrival four Ruffs were playing on the
opposite side of our pool, one with buff collar, one with red, and two
with nearly black collars; a great treat to both of us, as it was the

R2 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

first opportunity we had had of watching these birds at close quarters.
Several Red-necked Phalaropes were generally on the pool, and when
all was quiet, souse would come some old Hider or Velvet Scoter into
it; but these never cared to remain long near our tent, however peace-
ful it looked. I may say here that no gun was fired during our
visit.

A large part of the island in the neighbourhood of the lake is
covered with great tussocks or mounds of coarse glaucous green
grass (see Plate 11), many of these being five or six feet high,
exclusive of the live grass on the top; the angelica covers two feet
of the bases in the illustration, and largely destroys the effect. These
mounds appear to be the remains of many generations of grass; they
are almost entirely composed of vegetable mould and fibre; in fact,
there is no sand to build up mounds round this grass as in some
parts of the English coast. They afforded admirable nesting ground
for several species of birds; Common Gulls often occupied the tops,
while Lapland Buntings and Meadow-Pipits found good shelter in
the sides, and several Mergansers had nests in holes near the bottom.
After some little trouble we found a Turnstone’s nest with four eggs
in the side of one of these tussocks. These birds are often so
difficult to watch to their nest, there is a real pleasure in beating
them; and their handsome eggs vary sufficiently to make a good
series a desideratum. Arctic Terns were now nesting in thousands
in all directions—on the wet sphagnum-moss in the marshes, on the
crowberry covering the higher ground, and among the shingle of the
shore; so that when it is remembered the island measures four miles
each way, and that no part was really free from breeding birds,
although they were certainly much thicker in some places than
others, it will be clear that “thousands” is not an exaggeration.
And the noise they made! It was often impossible to pick out the
notes of other species. Restless little creatures, they seemed to be
never still for more than a minute or two, even when incubating. I
was much impressed during this visit by a fact which has been recently

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 33

described by Mr. EH. Selous. As we lay watching some bird to its
nest, suddenly, without the slightest apparent cause, the babel of
voices ceased, and every bird in sight, Terns, Gulls, Skuas, and even
some of the ducks, would rise into the air in silence, wheel about
several times, and then return with redoubled chatterings. We were
the only human beings on the island at the time; nor were there any
other large mammals there, or birds of prey. No signal was per-
ceptible; it was as if an electric shock touched them simultaneously.
I noted the same phenomenon here in 1901, and amongst such a
mass of bird-life it was very striking. ‘Sometimes these peculiar
movements took place at intervals of less than ten minutes.

A hasty dinner at g p.m. and then out to work again. Charles
devoted considerable time to positively identifying the nests of some
Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a large colony of which had commenced
to lay near the north and east shores. Not one of this species had
been seen on our former visits, so that they are as comparatively late
in breeding here as on the Norwegian and British coasts. I spent
an hour on the hill above the lake watching the ducks, in the hope
I should see one of the Velvet Scoters returning to her nest, and
although this idea proved a failure, the time was not wasted among
the surrounding bird-life. On walking round the lake I found the
Red-throated Divers Colymbus septentrionalis (the only divers seen
here), had just commenced to prepare their nests. In a marsh near
the lake was a nest of Richardson’s Skua containing three eggs, all
slightly incubated. This is the only instance in which I have found
more than two eggs in the nests of this species. After rejoining my
brother, we hunted slowly down the coast to the s.E. point, disturbing
two Turnstones which seemed anxious, and watched them for nearly
an hour in a biting cold wind—for it was now considerably after
midnight—without result. The leading bird sat» during most of the
time on the edge of an old sea-beach, watching me from the shelter
of some coarse grass, but would come no farther, and when at last we

went down to the place we could find nothing. On returning the
C

34 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

next day, however, Charles saw the bird fly off, and we soon after
found the nest under a flat stone within a few feet of where the bird
sat the night before, and in a direct line between us. Although
seventy or eighty yards off, I expect I must have been too visible on
the sky-line, for it is often very difficult to select a spot for watching
which commands the suspected area and affords any shelter; while to
be on the sky-line is generally fatal.

A few Willow-Wrens were noted here to-day for the first time,
We turned in at 5 a.m., after seventeen hours of the most perfect
Arctic weather I ever remember, during which the sun had swung
round the heavens in an absolutely cloudless sky.

June 27th.—Such weather as we were now enjoying was too good
to waste in sleep, and we were out again at 9.30. The chief incident
to-day was another contest with Turnstones. We had noted a pair
in the day, but could make nothing of them at the time, and so
returned to the attack about 10 pm. Charles and I having settled
about eighty yards apart, the birds also settled some hundred yards from
both of us, and for twenty minutes they never moved more than
a yard; then they worked down gradually to a point midway between
us, the same bird always leading; next they turned towards me, and
came on and on with many a zigzag, till it seemed the nest must be
underneath where I was! For half-an-hour I sat almost without
winking. Once, when eight yards off, the bird fluttered down into a
hollow, but promptly reappeared, and came on to within six yards;
then an old Puffin appeared from a burrow close by, regarded me
steadily with one eye, then turned the other, and not liking my
personal appearance, retired underground. This shook the Turnstone’s
confidence somewhat; and cold, cramp, and a desire to cough, made
the situation unbearable any longer. We searched all the area round
most carefully without result; 1t was a bare stretch of peat with
scarcely a scrap of vegetation, and full of Puffin holes. We returned
the next morning and found the sentinel bird away feeding; the
other flew up close to our feet out of a Puffin hole in the hollow

‘oF ADV

‘AYALSVNOW AHL AO SLNVAYSS

*66-2-z

WiLDsO-ly 2QV 1 s "OL 2

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 35

where it had settled the night before, and there was the nest 18
inches from the mouth, containing three eggs more than half
incubated ; a few dead sorrel stalks had been taken in to form
the nest.

As far as I have been able to judge, it is always the male Turn-
stone which takes the leading part in protecting both eggs and young,
as In many other species of birds. In fact, the old idea of the
mother’s protecting love and devotion is a myth in far more cases
than people generally realise. It is more often the father who stays
to be shot in his efforts to draw off attention from, or otherwise
protect the young, while the female keeps carefully out of danger. In
the species where this occurs the male and female are very similar in
plumage, but it does not always follow that when they are alike
the male takes this duty. I have specially noticed this trait in the
north among Red-throated Divers, Phalaropes, Dotterel, Stints, and
Purple Sandpipers.

Of fourteen nests of the Turnstone found during recent years,
three were in clumps of dwarf sallow growing 6 to 10 inches high,
three were under large flat stones, three upon open ground among
low grass or crowberry, two on the sides of large grass mounds or
tussocks, one in a Puffin hole, one under a shelf of peat, and one on the
open tundra. All except the last—on Kolguev—were on comparatively
small islands, and eleven were within fifty yards of high-tide. The
earliest date was June 13th, and latest July 6th.

It took some time to restore our impaired circulation after the
long watch of the Turnstone, and matters were not improved for the
one of us who walked into a bog up to his waist. The sun had
again made his circuit of the heavens without a cloud being seen;
and when we turned in at 2 am. he was regaining his power, and
making the air pleasantly warm. On both nights it had been
decidedly cold from ten to nearly two, and although the light
appeared almost the same to the eye, my photographs showed it was
really much feebler than at mid-day. It soon became a curious

36 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

question as to when the birds, especially the Terns, slept; there was a
distinct hush in the general babel for a very short period after mid-
night, but even then quite half the birds were on the move, and the
others slept even more lightly than with the proverbial “one eye open.”
Those Terns I watched through my glasses never seemed to sleep for
more than a minute or two at a time.

June 28th—Photography is not all pleasure, for certain subjects
must be taken in certain lights; and a Turnstone’s nest demanded
attention when the morning sun shone into it, in spite of the fact that
breakfast was nearly ready. But virtue sometimes brings more than
her usual reward, and did in this case; for on crossing a deep crack
in the peat, out flew a duck showing the white alar bar and dusky
black of a Velvet Scoter; and there below were the seven beautiful
pinky cream-coloured eggs in a bed of sooty black down. We had
crossed this piece of ground repeatedly during the previous two days,
and several nests of other species were marked within a few yards.
Like many other white eggs those of the Velvet Scoter lose much of
their beauty after they are blown. A prolonged effort on the whistle
at last drew my brother from his cooking operations; and, knowing
now where to search, he soon found another nest with six eggs in a
cleft between two grass tussocks. When we returned with the
camera after breakfast a third Velvet Scoter rose from a nest of
seven eggs in a crack five yards away from the first. All the eggs
were nearly fresh; they were the first we had seen of this species.

We found three Red-necked Phalaropes’ nests this morning, one
with fresh eggs, one slightly incubated, and the last with down on the
chicks. Near the south-east corner were sixteen to twenty Little
Stints 7ringa minuta ; but they did not appear to be breeding here,
although we found a nest in the evening on Little Heno. The bird
rose close to our feet from this nest, and was I think the tamest of
the species I ever met with. It came and sat on two eggs within
easy reach of my hand, danced a grotesque little dance six inches
from my feet, went off to appeal to Charles, little knowing he was

I0-7-99.

II.15 a.m.

VIEW FROM CAMP OVER PECHENGA LAKE.

PAGE 43.

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 37

quite as stony-hearted; then returned and settled in the empty nest
by my side, and generally tried our sympathies to the utmost. But
alas! those eggs were a very handsome clutch, only slightly incubated,
and the first eggs of the Little Stint we had found west of the White
Sea; so they came to England! Six or eight pairs of Turnstones
appeared to have nests on the low ground, but we only succeeded in
finding one, as our time was limited.

Amongst the eggs found during our stay were those of Richard-
son’s Skua, Oyster-catcher, Common Gull, White Wagtail, Dunlin,
Lapland Bunting, Meadow-Pipit, Lesser and Great Black-backed Gull,
Black Guillemot, and Red-throated Pipit.

A few clouds appeared in the afternoon, but nothing to interfere
with the continuous sunshine. I never remember three more glorious
days and nights than those we had just experienced. At night we
steamed into Pechenga gulf and anchored off the Triphona river.
Large arrears of egg-blowing, posting diaries, &., kept us hard at
work till 4 a.m.

June 29th.—Where Temminck’s Stints are undisturbed they nest
freely in the grass close to the houses, and we hoped to find that
those we had seen here on the 16th had eggs now in the fields round
the village, but scarcely a bird was to be seen. There were plenty of
cats, however, each house seemed to possess at least one; and they
explained the scarcity of Stints. Cats are an unmitigated nuisance to
those who care for birds. Leaving the village, we walked up the
Triphona valley; and after crossing a mile and a half of rough
country, came to a lake from the lower end of which the river
emerges. Five boats drawn up on the shore showed there was good
fishing here during the summer. This part is narrow for some
distance, with the hills coming down close on both sides; but on
rounding the last bluff, the lake opens out into a fine sheet of water
more than two miles long, and bordered by flat marshy land. A
Whooper Swan Cygnus musicus flew close to us at the foot of the lake,
and a few hundred yards farther on there were a pair on the water,

38 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

both calling and looking anxious; they had no nest and were only
disturbed by our presence. A pair of Mergansers remained on the
lake for some time within thirty yards, affording us a good view of
them; and two geese which passed over twice were probably nesting
in the hills near. Of nests we found four Blue-throats’, two Reed-
Buntings’, and two Red-throated Pipits’.. One of the first contained
seven eggs, and was in a clump of grass on the edge of the lake,
surrounded in fact by water and only two inches above its surface.
I expect the water had risen since the nest was made, as it was eight
inches above the usual level. We saw the first tinge of green on the
birches to-day.

June 30th.—The fjord was quite lively this morning, three steamers
having arrived during the night; two were mail-boats from and to
Vardo, and the third had brought the Head of St. Triphon’s monastery
from Archangel. The consequence was that when we landed later in
the day, we heard no horses could be provided to take us to the
monastery until the day after to-morrow. Four or five monks were at
the rest-house, dressed in high velvet caps—very like a top hat minus
the brim—and long black coats reaching below their knees. All
wore their hair down to their waists, producing a striking effect when
first seen. |

Almost all the birds had left the village, and there were com-
paratively few up the valley, Mealy Redpolls being the commonest.
A bird of this species was sitting on a nest of six eggs, and allowed
me to approach within two feet of it. After watching it a little,
I took the nest and moved a few feet off to blow the eggs, when the
bird at once returned and settled on the foundation left. The first
egg contained a chick in down, so I carefully replaced the nest; and
in a minute the bird was settled on it again as if nothing had hap-
pened. We also found a Brambling’s nest with two eggs, a beautiful
little structure, covered with lichen and moss outside to imitate the
birch bough it was placed on, and lined chiefly with grouse feathers.
The nests of this species are very similar to those of the Chaffinch, but

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 39

always look brighter and handsomer because the lichens are clean, a
state in which the Chaffinch can rarely obtain them in our smoke-
grimed country of England.

A hot morning had made us wish for lighter clothes; in the
afternoon the weather changed, as foretold by the halo the day before,
to cold fog. To add to our discomfort the boat stuck on several
sandbanks during the return voyage, and we were thoroughly wetted
by the waves breaking over us.

July tst—The halo weather continued, a dull cold day with north
wind and occasional rain. After packing stores, &c., for our expe-
dition inland, I went up the hills on the west side, over the lake
visited on the 29th. A Wheatear’s nest with five fresh eggs was
found under some stones at an elevation of 500 feet; the nest was
made of fine grass lined with plenty of feathers, chiefly those of the
Willow-Grouse. As the Grouse and Ptarmigan are almost the only
species which undergo a spring moult while in the north, they
provide nearly all the feathers available for small birds to line their
nests with. From the top of the hill (700 feet) a good view was
obtained of the lake; ice still covered all but the narrow part at the
bottom and a small piece at the upper end where the river entered.
There were two smaller lakes higher up the valley. Snow covered
most of the hills in sight, and the whole scene looked more like early
spring than July.

On going down into the scrub near the lower part of the lake,
I solved the mystery respecting the Temminck’s Stints; there they
were, nesting among quite a thick growth of birch. There were many
birds about, but I only had time to find one nest, for it was an end-
less process to watch these little mouse-like creeping birds, where we
could only see a few yards in any direction. Even when the position
of the nest was known within two feet, I did not see it at first; for
the spot chosen was unusual, and the four eggs harmonised so well
with their surroundings. A slight hollow between two young birch
stems, which only allowed room for the bird to sit comfortably, had

40 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

been lined with a few bits of grass and dead birch leaves. I had
scarcely expected to find Stints nesting in a wood.

July 2nd was a day neither of us are likely to forget. Rising at
seven, we landed with the last load of camping requisites at ten, expect-
ing in our ignorance and simplicity to find the horses in the carriages,
and the native we had engaged to accompany us ready. The man
soon appeared, but only to tell us he could not go, as he was wanted
for fishing or something. Fortunately, Ivan the Finn, from whom I had
purchased the first salmon in Devkin bay, was there; and as soon as
he heard we wanted a man, offered his services. He spoke Norwegian,
so I engaged him at two roubles a day; and on the whole he proved a
useful acquisition, for he knew the country here thoroughly, and had
lived in it all his life. On a warm day it was pleasanter to walk on
the windward side of him, as his last wash must have taken place in
a past so remote that even he could probably not recollect it; and
his clothes—well, a study of Plate 17 will give a better idea of
them than pages of description! As Einar Stroémsted was also going,
I was obliged to ask him if he would object to occupying the same
tent as Ivan, and fortunately he raised no difficulties. Then began a
long wrangle between Ivan and the head-servant who had charge of
the stables, as to the number of horses required and the amount to
be paid for them. I was perfectly helpless, for everything had to be
translated from English through Norwegian to Russian, and I am con-
vinced that Ivan said what he chose, and not what I told Einar; for
Ivan did not love the monks, and did not intend them to have too good
a bargain. In spite of my repeated orders to take all the horses the
servant said were wanted, and pay what he asked, Ivan continued to
haggle. Two hours and a half were wasted over all these prelimi-
naries, and my small stock of patience more than exhausted.

Plate 12 represents a group of the servants, mostly connected
with the stables, some of whom acted as our drivers. The head man,
who drove our carriage, is the second from the left.

At last, at 12.30, we started—one carriage, two waggons with our

“aN

‘by AOVG

re, SV) VONAHOsd SO (GVaH atv. Sinn
0-2-2

aialeecaVialicc

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 41

luggage, and two with goods for the monastery—quite an imposing
cavalcade. Our carriage had a small high perch in front for the
driver, and behind it an arrangement like an Irish car with room for
two on each side, but I decided to put Ivan with his many odours on
a board behind, using his seat for the camera. ‘There were no springs
—none would have stood more than a few miles of that road—but the
body of the carriage was secured on two long poles which took off much
of the jarring, and kept the two pairs of small wheels so far apart that
they were rarely in the same quagmire at once.

That was the most awful so-called road I ever saw, read of, or
dreamt of; and the driver's anxiety to have light loads for his horses
was amply justified. There were long stretches of peaty bog where
the little wheels sank to the axles, varied by even deeper and softer
holes; other parts had been patched with tree stems and branches
like an American corduroy road, Steep gulleys often intervened ;
some with deep loose sand almost more trying to our good little
horses than the bogs; others of harder material, down which the
driver went at a wild gallop that shook us up like parched peas, and
threatened to pitch us off many times in a minute. Experience
must have taught the Russians that this form of carriage is the
easiest to leave in a difficulty! Charles and I walked quite two-
thirds of 25 versts, but not Ivan! his ride was paid for, and I expect
he did not often enjoy one. However, I made him walk when the
driver did, and when that happened, the carriage alone was quite
enough for the horses. It is only right to say that this was just in
the middle of the Russian thaw, and the road was distinctly better on
our return.

At three we came to a half-way house—the only building seen on
the whole road—where the man cooked us some good salmon; and as
our lunch was in the first cart, long since left behind, the salmon was
most acceptable. At last we reached the monastery, the six hours
spent in driving 17 miles being an eloquent testimony to the con-
dition of the road. As I propose to devote a future chapter to this

42 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

place and its history, I will only say here we were much struck with
the size of the establishment, and the gorgeous decoration of the
interior of the church. We were very kindly received by the monk in
charge, shown over some of the buildings, and entertained with tea,
&c., in the guest-house.

Several Martins were flying up and down the river here which
we believed to be Sand Martins Cotile riparia, but shooting was not
allowed, so that their species could not be positively decided.

After the horses had rested, we started again at 9 p.m., all the
luggage now on one waggon, sure sign of a better road. Some six
versts brought us to a winter village of the Finns, now deserted except
by one man, who appeared to be Ivan’s factotum, and looked after his
huts and fishing during the summer. This man had spent a winter's
evening “not wisely but too well” with some friends many years
before, and had gone to sleep in the snow on his way home; the con-
sequence was he had lost all his fingers and thumbs through frost-bite,
and it was marvellous how much he managed to do with the small
stumps remaining. Our head driver considered his contract ended at
the village, for there “ the road” ended, although the travelling beyond
was much better than the greater part of the road we had come over
during the day. With much trouble we persuaded him to take us
half a mile farther, but nothing would bribe him beyond that point.
So, having settled with him, we each shouldered a load; four young
Russians, whom Ivan had engaged at the monastery, carried weights
to which many English donkeys would have strongly objected. Ivan’s
man had a bundle of rags under his arm, which I learnt on inquiry
were intended to stop the leaks in our boat! After marching in dis-
tinctly heavy order for a mile and a half, we came to the Buskar (a
small river flowing from some lakes to the west), at its junction with
the Pechenga. Here was what Ivan called a boat, but which would
have answered equally well for a sieve ; the upper seams showed about
a quarter of an inch of daylight through them and the lower ones
nearly as much. After exhausting the rags, the water still made so

*66-2£-2

EG ieech vill

‘bP ADV”
‘YSAIY VONAHOAd NO

V1V4a Ysaddn

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 43

much headway, that I sent Ivan and his man up the stream for
another, which he assured me was in much better condition. The
others returned for the remainder of the luggage. The latter came
back long before Ivan, and it was most amusing to watch those four
Russians; they were just like big children, and evidently looked upon
Ivan as in loco parentis. ‘They were miserable at his prolonged absence,
shouted or rather howled for him to return; then made a large fire as
a signal, which they utilised to dry themselves. The latter they
effected by stripping their shirts up, and sitting with their bare backs
to the fire. I wandered off into the scrub and put a Wigeon off her
nest containing six eggs; the nest was under a small heap of dead
sticks twenty yards from the river, and was well lined with down.

Ivan at last returned towing a second boat, in far worse condition
than the first, and which sank finally as they reached shore ; the other
was just kept afloat by one man baling incessantly while the other
paddled. The river we had to cross was not wide, but very rapid,
making it difficult to work such a leaky old flat-bottomed tub. At
last a man got over safely, and we ferried the luggage across by means
of a rope tied to the bow. Another mile brought us to our proposed
camping-ground on the edge of Pechenga lake, and right glad we were
to see it. It was 7 am. when we finally turned in, after twenty-four
hours of hard work.

July 3rd.—Our two tents were pitched on the edge of a large
moraine that formed the north side of the lake, and rose more than
fifty feet above the water, so that we enjoyed a considerable view over
the surrounding country. Plate 13 shows the prospect from our tent-
door, looking south over the lake; it was worth the extra effort made
last night to reach this place. The Pechenga enters the lake at the
farthest point visible—a small white dot among the trees indicates
the broken water—and leaves it on the left hand of the picture.
Even this pleasant spot had its drawback; after a heavy march it
seemed a long way down to the water, and the bank was very steep to

mount again.

Wn BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

It was after 2 p.m. when we began to stir. As soon as breakfast
was over, Ivan went to the head of the lake for a third boat; it was
little better than the others, for all the boats are left exposed to the
winter frost, which opens their seams; the last coat of wood-tar they
had received was when they were built, and they only varied in their
degrees of rottenness. Crossing the lake, we walked up the east bank
through an open wood of birch (amongst which were scattered a few
Scotch firs) to the head of the lake. Here were two wooden huts
(Plate 14) and several wretched little shelters—conical heaps of birch
boughs with a creep-hole on one side, where some of the poorer people
pass the winter. By a liberal use of red calico and other contrivances
I afterwards converted the best of the huts into a “ dark room,” where
I successfully changed the photo-films. Leaving the lake, we walked
up the west side of the river in hope of finding the other lakes shown
on Rae’s map. Unfortunately, Kinar had remained in camp to rest
after yesterday's exertions, so we could only communicate with Ivan
by signs. The ground was dreadful to walk over, being almost entirely
composed of large boulders like those on the hills above Lutni (see
1901), but covered here with heavy moss, so that we never knew
where to tread safely. The river was a broad rapid stream with a
few large pools that would have made a fisherman’s heart rejoice.
We afterwards learnt from Ivan there are “ plenty salmon” here in
latter part of July and August when he and his family come up to
net them ; there are also “ plenty mosquitoes” then, and the condition
of a nice fat tender-skinned Englishman after two or three weeks here
at that time of the year would probably wring sympathy from even
his bitterest enemy. Of bird-life there was none for several miles
beyond a few Willow-Wrens.

We passed two small waterfalls, the upper one of which is
shown in Plate 15; Ivan said salmon could get up both the falls
when there was enough water. And then, it being 11 p.m., and no
lakes to be seen, we decided to have lunch and turn towards camp.
Just then two Velvet Scoters flew over and settled in a marsh behind ;

F. 44.

5S.

3.45 p.m.

ae eee. a g a A 7 , ery PY,
Thy be me ’
»; PO oe
TA

ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD’S NEST.
PAGE 45.

PLATE 16.

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 45

as I followed them, a Woodpecker flew up, which I shot, and found it
to be the three-toed species, Picoides tridactylus. A short search dis-
covered a hole in a dead alder with lots of new chips underneath, but
alas! when Charles climbed up to the nest he was greeted with the
eager calls of a large family. In another old Woodpecker’s hole near
was a Redstart’s nest with young. We made Ivan understand he
was to take us the shortest way back, and he led us through a
much more interesting country than that we had passed on our way
up. This part must have been well wooded before the monks cut
all the best trees down; we saw hundreds of stumps of Scotch firs
12 to 18 inches diameter. One tree had been spared on account
of its divided stem; and in the fork was a Rough-legged Buzzard’s
nest, a bulky structure of sticks lined with fresh pine shoots, and
containing three well-marked eggs (Plate 16). The only other nests
found during the day were a Willow-Wren’s with seven incubated
eggs, a Brambling’s with seven too incubated for blowing, and
another with four fresh eggs. The bird belonging to the last sat on
the nest while I climbed up the thin birch in which it was placed,
and pecked my fingers when I tried to feel how many eggs she had.
July 4th.—We decided to visit Lake Arveden this afternoon, where
Ivan had seen the Swan’s nest a few years since. This entailed
crossing the Buskar river at our “ ferry,” and the old tub sank with
Kinar, dropping him into a swift stream up to his waist. A rough
walk of about six miles, during which we crossed two or three swamps,
brought us to the lake, a larger sheet of water than that we were en-
camped by, and containing some useful-looking islands. On the way
there we saw several Redshanks and Snipe; also, two more Three-
toed Woodpeckers, whose nest we failed to find although we felt sure
it was near. I shot here a Northern Marsh Tit Parus borealis, the
only Tit seen in this district ;* it was a female, and had well-marked
incubation spots. Soon after reaching the lake it commenced to rain
heavily, so that we were glad to shelter in one of Ivan’s numerous huts.

1 This Tit was wrongly described in the Jbis, 1899, p. 525, as P. camtschatkensis.

46 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

A good fire of birchwood soon warmed the old place—it had been built
by his grandfather more than a hundred years ago—and brought out
many ancient odours. The fireplace was formed by two large slabs
of stone in one corner, and the light from the flames playing on the
smoke-stained old timbers produced effects of colour that required
the brush of a Rembrandt to do justice to them. Plate 17 shows the
exterior of this refuge, from which it will be seen that the house
(measuring 14 feet by 10 feet) was not intended to stand upright in;
a broad bench occupied one side and one end, where the family sat
and slept. The hut to the right in the picture—in much better
repair—was filled with fishing nets and other gear. Ivan said he
had seven of these residences scattered over the district at various
fishing stations. I asked if he had a wife for each house, whereon he
grinned and seemed to consider one was enough to be blessed with at
once. His present one is his second venture on the sometimes thorny
road of matrimony.

On reaching the huts, a Wheatear flew up from near a large log;
so, thinking the nest was underneath, I rolled the log over, but no
nest was there. An hour after, a speck of blue in a hole in the centre
of the log caught my brother’s eye leading to the discovery of seven
eggs, none of which had been broken by their rolling.

As soon as the rain settled down to a steady drizzle we started
in a leaky apology for a boat to explore the islands. The Whooper
Swans were again occupying the nest Ivan had found on his former
visit, a conical mound two feet high, on the extreme point of the
largest island, and composed of quite a cartload of moss, &. As it
contained only two eggs, I left them till another day in hope of a
better light for photographing, and further additions to the number.
Both birds were near that end of the island when we first arrived, but
soon went down towards the river, and we saw them no more that day.

July 5th.—As the rain still continued, we stopped in camp till
7 p.m. clearing up arrears; and then went up the west side of our
own lake. The nests found were a Mealy Redpoll’s, with five incubated

PLEATED 7:

6-7-99.

Noon.

IVAN’S HUT.

10.

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 47

eggs; two common Sandpipers’ Totanus hypoleucus, each with four, one
set fresh, the other with young birds formed ; a Reed-Bunting’s with
six, incubated; and a Wigeon’s with seven eggs. The Reed-Bunting’s
nest was in a small juniper bush on the edge of a swamp, and the
bird came back within two feet of me. Mosquitoes were getting
troublesome; Hinar had one eye nearly closed, and we had more lumps
under the skin than were pleasant.

July 6th.—We started at 10 am. for Swan lake, as we wanted to
take some photos; this was done under difficulties, for the light was
bad all day. The Swans still had only two eggs, so we brought them
to land and blew them. One was addled; in the other, incubation
had commenced, but the embryo came out entire, showing a delicate
red tracery of the future bird with its long neck, head, and body. I
never remember to have blown an egg before in exactly the same
condition. Plate 18 was taken before the eggs had been touched.
Ivan persisted in his opinion that Eagles had taken the other Swan’s
eggs, although we could not learn that he had ever seen such a thing
happen. The islands here looked ideal breeding-places for ducks,
and there were birds on the water, but not a nest could we find
although we searched every square yard of them all carefully.

Then Ivan took us across the lake to what he at first said was an
Osprey’s nest Pandion haliaétus, but afterwards thought it might have
been an Eagle’s. The nest was there certainly (see Plate 19), but
it had not been occupied for at least two years, and more probably
belonged to an Eagle than an Osprey, for the only remains of food
below were two breast-bones of birds, one of them a duck. As will
be seen from the relative sizes of my brother and the nest, the latter
was an immense structure of sticks which would have filled a large
cart. This plate is inserted on account of the tree. Before the
monks began to rebuild Pechenga monastery, in 1886, most of this
district was covered with trees of this and larger sizes, as shown by
their stumps; but now only the crippled and deformed remain.
However, if the trees are gone, all the wild animals are not; for

a

48 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

we found this morning the footprints of a large grey wolf that had
followed our track home last night to within 300 yards of the tents.
His marks were sharp and clear in the wet sand, and from their size
he must have been a fine beast. Ivan says bears are also common
here, and we certainly came across their traces many times every
day, where they had been digging out the Voles Microtus agrestis,
which were very numerous; too much so in fact, for one came into
the tent and bit two or three large holes through my pyjamas!

At first we were much surprised to find this almost uninhabited
country intersected by several well-worn paths, but the explanation
was soon forthcoming, for each of them led from one fishing station
to another, and nothing would induce Ivan to diverge from them a
foot in going to the various lakes, if he could avoid it. When we
insisted on striking across fresh country away from these sacred paths,
he would follow sulkily, and make no effort to show us the best way.
In this country where vegetation grows so slowly, very little traffic
will produce well-defined tracks, and they are doubtless important to
a people often obliged to traverse it in fog; so Ivan considered it our
bounden duty to help to maintain them, and we did—on the home-
ward journey, for they always followed the easiest line of country.

The next nest was a Rough-legged Buzzard’s in a Scotch fir,
which contained three young in down with quills just showing.
Then a Brambling’s, with seven of the best marked eggs obtained
this season; but just as Charles was handing down the nest, he
tumbled out of the tree, missing me by six inches; and those eggs
were broken. On the return journey Ivan left us to inspect the nets
at another of his numerous huts. Here he found a Red-breasted
Merganser in possession, sitting on seven eggs slightly incubated ;
he caught her and turned her out of doors, bringing us the seven
eggs with the down, tied up in his pocket-handkerchief. A strange
character this dirty old Ivan, with his numerous country-houses, and
over a hundred reindeer now pasturing at Zip-Navolok on the Ribatchi
peninsula; for although past sixty he can do quite as long a day's

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 49

walk as we care to undertake. During part of the winter he drives
the Post over the Kola district in sledges drawn by reindeer, and
accompanied by four other men. After our return he went to the
cluster of huts we had passed on our way here from the monastery, to
see his man with the fingerless hands, and only returned at 5.30 a.m.
bringing another Red-breasted Merganser’s nest with fifteen eggs which
he had found in one of the houses.

July 7th.—Charles found a Merganser to-day on six eggs, and she
sat for some time while he stood a few feet off; but declined to stop
and have her photograph taken. The nest was under a little juniper
on a small island at the head of our lake. ‘Then Ivan took us some
miles up the valley to see a lake where he was sure we should find
Swans; but the lake was only a wide part of the river Pechenga with
two or three islets, and held no Swans. On the way up we met a
family party of Hawk-Owls Surnia wlula, one of which I shot, a fact
that caused very little concern to his relatives, who remained near us
for some time. Owls’ claws are sharp, and it is well to bear that in
mind when dealing with wounded ones! All the Fieldfares seen
to-day had young, while most of the eggs of the smaller birds, such
as Redpoll, Wheatear, Willow-Wren, and Brambling, were much
incubated. We put up two hen Capercaillie Tetrao wrogallus near
the path when returning, the first and last seen here.

July 8th.—As some kinds of food were running low, I sent the
men to the monastery for a further supply. They were three hours
going there; and returned in the evening with four pints of milk, one
pound of butter, seven small loaves of bread, some tea and sugar, and
a small salmon; total cost, 4 roubles 15 copecks. An English-
man had been to the monastery yesterday who had walked across
from the Voriema (Jacob) river. He could speak no language they
understood ; so took some photos and returned to Norway. We were
sorry not to have seen him. I had told Ivan to bring some beer or
spirits, but the monks would let him have neither; and so we were

reduced to tea before the end of our stay.
D

50 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

A Whimbrel and a Golden Plover wasted a good deal of our
time; we could make nothing out respecting their nests. The eggs
of a Red-throated Pipit, Meadow-Pipit, and White Wagtail were all
on the point of hatching. We saw an Osprey here to-day for the first
time ; it was fishing over the upper part of the lake. The eggs of this
bird were one of the chief desiderata of our visit. The weather was
splendid, with sun shining both day and night; yet there was a sharp
hoar frost after midnight in the shade, and the fall in temperature
caused heavy mists to form over the lake and river.

July 9th.—Plate 20 is a picture of reindeer-moss, the principal
food of the animal which figures so largely in accounts of arctic travel ;
it was particularly luxuriant near our camp. The colour is a light
greenish sulphur-yellow.

To-day Ivan took us to a lake lying to the s.z., where he thought
we might find the Osprey nesting, but we saw no trace of the bird
there. The lake was a large sheet of water about two miles long, and
somewhat of the same shape as that we had seen on the Triphona
river, June 29th. The land sloped up from it gently on three sides,
covered with birch and a few scattered pines, but there were broad
strips of marshy ground running down through the woods, which
gave the effect—often to be seen in our English parks—of having
been cleared to afford a view of the lake and hills beyond. Ivan
explained to-day the Finns do not like Ospreys, and do what they can
to drive them out of the country by cutting down the trees they select
to build in; all because they eat a few fish! As the only birds we
saw here were a Black-throated Diver, a Common Gull, and a few
Arctic Terns, we soon struck up to some hills. After passing the tree-
line we found a nest of the Meadow-Pipit with six eggs, and one of a
Rough-legged Buzzard on a steep hillside, but as the chick in the one
egg could be heard calling when we were twelve yards off, we left the
only child in its fond parent’s care. A little farther on, an Hagle rose
from some rocks, whereupon two Buffon’s Skuas and a Tern went for
him in a style that was indicative of some precious treasures close to.

Gi Ss

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EAGLE’S (9)

PAGE 47.

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND ie

When a bird of prey is not hungry he will stand these attentions in
a marvellous manner, generally beating a retreat; when he is empty
they often end in disaster. We thought the bird was a young White-
tailed Eagle. The Tern had young, and the Skuas two eggs nearly
hatched.

The trail showed that a large wolf had passed near the camp soon
after Ivan and Einar left yesterday, and appeared to have followed
them part of the way to the monastery. I am sure some readers
will ask why we did not go to look for those wolves, instead of
wasting so much time over birds. Well, we had no dogs, and only
16-bore guns; so we left them to come and look for us! of which
there was little chance in the middle of summer.

July 10th.—To-day we went to some hills visible in the distance
from camp. Of course Ivan took us on a path, but after a mile or
two of it we rebelled and struck up through the woods, much to his
disgust; however, the mosquitoes avenged him, for they were bad
to-day, especially in the damp parts. Charles saw a little dusky
mouse-coloured bird here with some white, which he thought was a
Pied Flycatcher Muscicapa atricapilla, but he could not get a shot at
it; he said it was catching flies like a Flycatcher.

Above the tree-line we added two new birds for this district, viz.,
the Dotterel and Shore-Lark. The eggs of the former, shown on
Plate 21, were so much incubated that when the drill went in the
beak came out through the shell. Still, the bird was wild and took
forty-five minutes to settle; there were mosquitoes up on the hills
also, even at this elevation of 850 feet! Another Dotterel was brood-
ing three young on the same hill. The male Shore-Lark had his beak
full of insects, so probably had young; his “horns” were very distinct
as he stood watching us. Two pairs of Buffon’s Skuas on these hills
had eggs, both clutches being nearly ready to hatch. The nests were
on dry peaty ground between 600 and 700 feet above sea level, and
were lined with a little lichen. We also found two nests of Wheatears
here, both under stones; the first contained five young, and the second

,

Se BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

three young and two eggs. Under the same stone as the first, and
within a foot of it, was last year’s old nest. Some Red-throated and
Meadow-Pipits’ eggs were nearly hatched.

Then we went down to a long narrow lake which forms the head
waters of the Buskar river; there were several small islets, but no
water fowl about, although we searched carefully with glasses from a
distance when we first sighted the lake. A Rough-legged Buzzard
had five young in a large dead fir, and stooped at my brother several
times when he was at the nest, coming within five or six feet of his
head. We had never seen this species make any attempt to defend
its young or eggs before. The eldest of the family took after its
parent, striking at Charles repeatedly with his claws.

After dinner Einar rowed me to the head of the lake to change
films. Before landing I caught two trout about 14 inches long
with an artificial minnow; long, thin, dark, ugly beasts with many
spots (some of them red), and they tasted no better than they
looked.

July 11th.—A horrid day! without one redeeming feature, except
our morning dip in the tarn behind the tents. We had soon deserted
the large lake for this tarn, for while both were shallow near the bank,
the bed of the former was made of boulders, while the latter was of
sand. Ivan had gone to the monastery after breakfast to arrange for
men and horses to take our tents, &c., back to the ship the next day ;
while we, accompanied by Einar, went to the head of the lake and the
country beyond on the west side of the river. The day was warm and
close, and those sweet little creatures, the mosquitoes, were out in their
thousands thirsting for blood. All travellers whom I have met, with
experience of both arctic and tropical mosquitoes, give the palm to the
arctic variety ; and it is indeed a mercy it does not appear to transmit
any germs beyond its own venom. After wandering for some hours
through the woods with no result beyond being bitten into a state of
fever, we made for the hills, the one idea in all minds being to start a
“smudge” (great smoke and little fire) at the earliest possible moment.

PLATE 20.

I0-7-9Q.

REINDEER MOSS.

50.

PAGE

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 5a

Who lit that smudge this history shall not repeat. Suffice it to say
he lit a handful of reindeer-moss on other moss, and not on a stone.
In less than a minute some yards were burning; and we, standing in
the smoke, gloried in the death of hundreds of our tormentors. But
there was a breeze! and that patch of fire was very quickly twenty
yards across. Then we realised the thing was serious; and, cutting
down young birch, beat and trampled on the fire for more than an
hour. Hot work, for many bushes had by this time been included in
the conflagration. At last it appeared to be completely subdued, and
only a little smoke rose from a few patches; so we went to the next
hill to cool our parched mouths with snow, for there was no water
near. The little wretches seemed, if possible, more active on the hill
tops than in the valleys, swarming up in clouds out of the reindeer-
moss, in spite of the breeze blowing there; so at last we turned for
home in despair. Einar’s head was swollen to nearly twice its natural
size, and all our tempers were in such a state that a wise person
would have postponed asking a favour.

July 12th—While we were busy packing after breakfast, Einar
called our attention to the fact that the whole country where we had
been yesterday was becoming covered with dense clouds of smoke! A
strong wind had sprung up early this morning, and I suppose had
fanned some sparks smouldering in the peat into a flame again. We
at first thought of going to try and put the fire out, but it was clear
that with the nearest water a mile away three men could do nothing
to extinguish a fire that filled a quarter of the horizon with smoke.
When Ivan appeared on the scene he looked very like a madman, for
he seemed to think we had set the country (which he looked upon as
his own) on fire on purpose. This roused Einar, and I think he some-
what painted what I had to say to Ivan on the subject. A stormy
ending to the expedition !

On reaching the monastery I had an interview with the Archi-
mandrite, whom we had not seen on our previous visit; a man about
5 feet 11 inches high, dressed in a black cassock, and a high, round,

54 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

velvet cap with flat crown, a crucifix on his chest suspended by a
chain, and a small medal attached to a red ribbon; a fine face, clearly
showing ability of no mean order—in fact, a man in the best sense of
the word. Most unfortunately he only spoke Russian and Finnish,
so the conversation had to be carried on through Einar and Ivan;
and I much doubted whether the latter correctly interpreted all
I said. The Father’s greeting was not warm; but I had a letter
from the Russian Minister of the Interior, and this, combined with an
explanation of how the fire arose, smoothed matters considerably.
We explained the fire was on Government property, not that of the
monastery. I afterwards learned that a monk had dropped a match
last year after lighting a cigarette, which had resulted in a large
area of the Imperial Forest—or rather birch scrub—being burnt,
with a loss to the monastery of some hundreds of roubles. The
results of this fire were still visible on our road to the lake. The
fact is, a light might almost as well be placed among loose gunpowder
as in reindeer-moss when it is really dry. The interview closed with
an invitation to have some refreshment in the guest-house; tea, cold
salmon in jelly, and delicious brown bread; but tea was the only
thing we really cared for after yesterday's torments, for we were still
too feverish for food. I had the pleasure of again meeting this
gentleman in 1903 on the Russian mail-steamer, when he presented
me with his portrait, which is reproduced on Plate 63.

Our troubles were not over yet, however. On reaching the sea
coast, I had to interview the Police Superintendent or some similar
official, and he wanted to detain us until he knew the amount of
damage the fire had caused, information which, he explained, would
require at least five or six days to obtain. If it was a bad fire, then
he must take a number of men and cut trenches round it to stop its
spreading through the peat. Again that letter of the Minister of the
Interior did us good service; and at last | wrung from him per-
mission to depart. I was really sorry though for the poor fellow;
the conflict in his mind as to whether he was going to get into most

PLATE 21.

DOTTEREL S NEST

PAGE

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 55

trouble by letting us go or making us stay so upset him that great
beads of perspiration stood on his forehead. Fortunately, on our
arrival at Vardo I found M. V. Beresnikoff, the Russian Consul-General
for North Norway, there, with whom we had travelled north from
Throndhjem ; and he undertook at once most kindly to have a short
account I had written, explaining the origin of the fire, translated
into Russian, copies to be sent to the Father Superior and the Head
of the Woods and Forests Department. A few weeks after my return
to England, I received a letter from M. Beresnikoff saying the damage
caused by the fire had been assessed at 9 roubles, 85 copecks, less
than a pound. A happy ending to what at one time threatened
to be a very disagreeable incident; and due largely, no doubt, to a
heavy storm of rain we saw falling over the district as we left the
monastery.

July 13th.—On our way to Vardé we stopped at Great Heno for
a couple of hours to have a last look at the island. We were much
surprised to find the whole of the Terns had left; it seemed scarcely
possible that all the young had been hatched and had flown since
the 28th ult., when there were large numbers of fresh eggs, and no
young in down to be seen. The only alternative explanation is that
their eggs had been collected wholesale after we left, and the birds
had given up the attempt to breed this year.

The island had now assumed its summer garb; large masses of
marsh marigold round the lake reached up to our knees, while acres
of drier land were covered with the beautiful yellow Trollius, a small
piece of which is illustrated on Plate 22. Flowers of tall habit are
most difficult to photograph in the north; when it is fine and sunny
there is almost invariably wind, which keeps them in constant
motion. A clear day without wind comes perhaps once in the
season, and then probably there are no flowers near to photograph !

Ferns grew plentifully in the damper hollows, and the Angelica
had reoccupied all its ground with rank luxuriant foliage that came
up to our waists. But when it is realised what a heavy dressing

56 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

of fish-manure the peat of the island receives every year, it is not
surprising vegetation should be so profuse. A few Hiders and a pair
of Richardson’s Skuas had eggs—probably birds whose first nests had
been robbed; but the young of most species were now about in
various stages of development. All the Little Stints seen on the
28th had left; it is possible these were non-breeding birds. Of
course our examination of the island in the two hours ashore to-day
was hurried, and confined to the s.E. portion; for sorry as we were
to leave this interesting spot with its thirty-eight species of birds,
many of them so abundantly represented, the ropes were drawing
us home, as sailors say, and we were anxious to catch a steamer
at Tromso that would enable us to sail for England on the 22nd by
the s.s. Eldorado.

After a pleasant but uneventful voyage along the Norwegian
coast, we left our little steamer at Tromso, re-crossed the Arctic Circle
July 18th—having crossed it going north May 17th—and arrived in
England on the 24th. It is scarcely possible that any one following
in our footsteps can light on such an equally unfortunate season ;
and there is therefore reason to hope that others will reap a richer
harvest in a normal year. Still we had met with seventy-six species
of birds, and found eggs of forty-four of them. And we had enjoyed
a most interesting time among visitors to Great Britain in their
summer homes, for only five of these seventy-six species are not
included in the British list. It is this last fact which adds so largely
to the charm of an ornithological ramble in the lands of Northern
Europe, lands which have an irresistible attraction for those who have
once known them, with their continuous daylight and invigorating
clean atmosphere, where letters, telegrams, and evening papers cease
to trouble, although there are MOSQUITOES.

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CHAPTER II

IQOI

MAN leaving the coasts of Northern Russia, his body well
> bitten by mosquitoes and his mind full of the hundred-and-

one little annoyances inseparable from all travel, may vow
he will never venture there again, but in six months all the troubles
are forgotten, only the recollection of some of those glorious days
spent within the Arctic Circle, which no other region of the world
can give, remains; and when the spring returns he is as restless to
be off once more as the birds are to return to their northern homes,
So 1901 found me again steaming up the Norwegian coast accom-
panied by my son, Hetley Pearson.

In searching the map for new ground to work, which could be
reached without the expense of chartering a large ship like the Laura,
Kanin peninsula presented itself as a desirable spot. Rae had told
us nothing about the birds he found in this country when he visited
it in 1873, so that it remained virgin soil as far as they were con-
cerned. Kanin was, therefore, decided upon as the chief aim of our
expedition this year.

Kanin peninsula extends some 130 miles to the north from the
Russian mainland, and forms the eastern shore of the White Sea.
Trees appear to reach their northern limit of growth in the neighbour-
hood of the Nes river, thirty-five miles to the south of Cape Konu-
shin, and the scrub growing beyond this part affords little wood large
enough to be of service for fuel; but the sea supplements the scanty
supply afforded by the land with stores of driftwood far in excess of

57

58 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

the requirements of the inhabitants. The southern part of the
peninsula consists of low-lying tundra and marshes interspersed with
numbers of lakes and tarns. At the narrowest part of the peninsula,
south of Cape Konushin, boats could at one time proceed up the
Chizha river to Lake Oboodna and thence down the Chesha river
into Cheshskaya bay on the east coast, a distance of twenty-five miles ;
but this is now impracticable, as the upper waters have silted up and
become a marsh. In a collection of Voyages published in 1694 by
Samuel Smith and Benjamin Walford, there is a chart of the Polar
Regions as then known, in which a wide channel is depicted between
the White Sea and Cheshskaya bay, where these rivers now run, thus
making Kanin into an island. Although the chart shows considerable
knowledge of the White Sea district, I do not advance this as a proof
of how much the land has risen here since the seventeenth century!
It is rather probably a curious instance of a much more ancient state
of things having been accidentally recorded. The country gradually
rises north of the Kiya river, and culminates in a range of hills 400
to 500 feet high occupying most of the northern part of the peninsula.
The Samoyeds migrate with their reindeer to these hills every summer
to avoid the mosquitoes, which are then unbearable in the marshy
lowlands. There are no reliable charts of these coasts; rocks and
shoals—often miles from land—cause all ships to give them a wide
berth, and the ice rarely leaves them before midsummer.

We left England May gth, and after a quiet voyage over the
North Sea—marred only by occasional performances on the fog-horn
—reached Stavanger on the 11th and Throndhjem on the 13th.
Here we were detained two days as usual, for Wilson’s boats do not
correspond with those for the north, so that it was the 19th before
we arrived at Tromsd. We found the little Hxpres waiting for us,
with Captain Hansen again in command. But all was not bright, for
the season, although not so dreadful as 1899, was a bad one, and the
hills were covered with snow down to the sea. The woods in Troms-
dalen were difficult to walk in, having more than a foot of snow on

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 59

the ground. Hooded Crows had eggs (6—5), and a Merlin had taken
possession of another of their nests, but had not laid yet.

After completing our stores we left Tromso on the 20th and
called at some islands where I had taken red eggs of the Herring
Gull in 1896. Here I obtained another very handsome red clutch,
still unblown, which the proprietor of the islands had just taken from
the nest. I believe these to be the third clutch now in my collection
from the same pair of birds. Those taken in 1895 and 1896 are
alike in colour, and in having one egg of a much deeper tone than
the others. The eggs of 1901 are a little lighter red than the pre-
vious ones.

After a somewhat rough and disagreeable voyage we arrived at
Vardo late on the 24th. The next morning we woke to find a fierce
N.w. gale blowing, with constant snowstorms. Most of the ships
crews were busy putting out extra stay-ropes to prevent collisions
and other damage. We heard that no ships had yet been able to
reach Archangel, as the ice was late in breaking up this year. Snow-
Buntings were still in flocks here; only one pair looked like commenc-
ing to build. Many Shore-Larks were feeding on the manure heaps
and other spots free from snow; a few Meadow-Pipits and one White
Wagtail had also arrived.

On the 26th the gale and snowstorms continued, the former so
severe one steamer broke from her moorings. A mature Glaucous
Gull Larus Glaucus settled on the water close to the Eupres, the first
ot this species I remember to have positively identified at Vardo.

May 27th, Whit Monday.—All the shops in Vardo were closed
except the chemists’, and the day was observed as a general holiday.
It is quite as hopeless to expect any work to be done in Norway on
such days as it is in England. We noticed a large steady stream of
people making for the church, and learnt that the minister was to
preach his farewell sermon, after twenty years’ service here. As he is
over eighty years of age, he is retiring on a pension.

The storm seemed to have exhausted itself, so we left Vardo soon

a

60 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

after one, and made a good quick passage of four and a half hours
to the island of Heno; for although there was a considerable swell
remaining from yesterday, the wind was astern. I shot two Pomator-
hine Skuas Stercorarius pomatorhinus on the way; the first a hand-
some male in adult plumage, with twisted tail; the second was an
immature female, with much more colour on the breast and a short
tail. Several others were about the ship most of the time, and also
Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis, Kittiwakes, Puffins, &c.

We landed in the small bay on the south side of Henoé—the same
place as in 1899—with some difficulty, on account of the swell,
and were at once confronted by a new wooden house, erected since
our last visit. However to our relief, it was empty, and the birds
had become accustomed to its presence. Probably it has been built
by the monks of Saint Triphon’s for the use of their people while
gathering the crop of multebzr (cloudberry, Rubus chameemorus) ; and
it certainly proved a useful shelter during some heavy showers of rain
on our later visits. We found the island covered with two or three
inches of snow; but it had recently fallen, and there were no heavy
drifts as on May 31, 1899, nor did the ground appear to be so
hard frozen. Some forty or fifty Purple Sandpipers were feeding on
the beach where we landed. The pool by the old camp was much
reduced in size, and what little water it contained was covered with
ice; the large lake was open, however, and on it were a number of
Common Eider, a few Velvet Scoter and Common Scoter Gdemia
nigra, a pair of Long-tailed Duck, and many other birds we could not
identify, for the light was bad, and they were so wild that they had
evidently been considerably disturbed. Some of the Puffins had
arrived and had visited their burrows, as we saw many marks on the
snow where they had entered them. Still not more than a tenth of
the full summer population had put in an appearance yet. A Raven
left for the mainland as soon as he saw us, probably one of the pair
nesting in Andarnaia fjord in 1899, which make this island their
chief hunting-ground. We saw a few Snow-Buntings and Lapland

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 61

Buntings, the latter all males; also some Meadow-Pipits, several pairs
of Oyster-catchers, one Turnstone, and one Dunlin. The advanced
guard of the Arctic Terns were in flocks on the shore, most of them
resting on the seaweed-covered rocks. ‘Three or four pairs of Great
Black-backed and Herring Gulls had come; Common Gulls were
more numerous. The only nests we found were about a dozen
Eiders’, some of them with six eggs, two Oyster-catchers’, each with
three, and three Common Gulls, 3-1-1. Evidently there was nothing
to stay for at present, and after walking for two or three hours over
the east half of the island, we rejoined the steamer with one prominent
idea, namely dinner. But alas! that was not to be that night, for the
roll was so bad we were only able to put things safe in the cabin and
then lie down. Kjeldsen woke me at I am.—his beard full of snow
—to say the fog was so bad we could not make the harbour of Zip-
Navolok at the N.E. corner of the Ribatchi peninsula, where Captain
Hansen had intended to anchor till the weather improved. This
entailed lying-to for an hour in that swell, not a pleasant time! Then
the fog lifted a little and we were soon after at anchor and at rest.
May 28th.—We left Zip-Navolok at noon, and had a rough passage
down the coast to Kildin island; here I decided to stay and wait for
a change in the wind. Kaildin island lies in about the centre of the
Murman coast of Russian Lapland; and is ten miles long by three
and a-half miles in its widest part. The Sound separating it from
the mainland varies in width from two miles to little more than half
a mile, and is generally very deep, so that there is only anchorage near
the shore. Far the best anchorage, in fact the only safe one, is in a
bay at the s.z. end of the island, called Monastery bay, from a fortified
monastery having been there at one time. This was destroyed by the
English in 1809, and no trace of it remains. On its site stands the
one house now existing on the island, and inhabited by a Norwegian,
of whom more anon. There is an abundant supply of good water to
be obtained from a shallow well a short distance from the house. The
geological formation of Kildin varies in a marked degree from that of

62 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

the mainland on the opposite side of the Sound; for while the latter
is chiefly composed of granite, the former is of a dark coloured schist,
bedded in nearly horizontal layers, what slight tilt there is being to-
wards the mainland. This stratification is clearly shown in Plate 43.
The greater part of the outer coast-line consists of cliffs rising 500 to
600 feet above the sea; but a landing can be effected on most of that
bordering the Sound where the ground rises in four terraces towards
the interior. A few patches of sallow and dwarf birch three to four feet
high may be found growing on the southern slopes and valleys; but
otherwise the island is destitute of trees or bushes. The interior is a
high tableland consisting of rounded hills, some of them rising to
800 and 1000 feet, scantily covered with reindeer-moss, lichen, and
the creeping birch; and broad valleys between clothed with a certain
amount of coarse grass, lichen, &c., very difficult to describe as her-
bage from an English point of view. Yet the island supports large
herds of reindeer, in charge of whom were a few Lapps living in
'wretched little tents near the shore. Both hills and valleys are
plentifully sprinkled with erratics of all sizes, many of them of granite.
The only low land on the island is to be found at the south-east end,
and forms one side of the bay and harbour. It consists of an interest-
ing series of raised beaches, their edges formed of great masses of
water-worn boulders, stretching sometimes for more than half a mile.
Parts of the lower land are covered with something which may be
almost called “ grass,” but this is largely due to the energy and care
of the Norwegian and his sons who have manured it for years, thus
obtaining a supply of hay for their twelve cows during the winter.
The man also owns a number of the reindeer which we saw on the
higher land.

On an Admiralty chart is shown a large lake described in the
Arctic Pilot, p. 87, as over a mile long, and two-thirds of a mile
wide. I walked miles to find that lake. On May 28th we found no
trace of lake or tarn in the interior, but I have now no doubt we
walked over the latter on the snow without knowing it. On June 29th

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we again started inland to search for the lake without success, but we
did find three sheets of water varying in size from a tarn to a small
lake and lying nearly on the same level, in about the position where
the lake is shown on the chart. I can only suppose that the person
who described that lake had visited the island just after a heavy
spring thaw when a flood had joined the three lakes into one. I
heard afterwards that the Russians had also endeavoured to find the
lake, but without success.

Hetley had considerable arrears of skinning to make up, so I
landed with two of the men. A few Herring and Great Black-backed
Gulls, Terns, and an Oyster-catcher were on the shore, while some
twenty or thirty Snow-Buntings were flying about the face of one of
the terraces apparently pairing ; but not another bird did we see during
our walk. We climbed up slope after slope, crossing much recent
snowdrift in which we sank above our knees, and making towards the
N.w. where the island is widest. At last we reached an elevation of
nearly 1000 feet which gave an extended view over a considerable
stretch of country. Where the wind had swept the ridges clear of
snow the stones were thickly coated with ice. The whole presented
the most desolate winter picture, and this on May 28th! The only
relieving feature was a herd of tame reindeer on the upper fells who
allowed me to photograph them at a distance of fifty yards (Plate 23).
This was done with half the lens so that they appear considerably
nearer. Only three retained last year’s horns, probably females. The
principal bulls had new horns half grown, and the others were in
various stages of lesser development. Several snowstorms passed over
during our walk, and gave splendid cloud effects over the sea and
mainland.

Four of the crew paid a visit to the Norwegians after our return,
and were told that no geese breed here, they only visit the island on
migration; but I think from what I afterwards saw that a few come
across from the mainland to feed during the summer.

May 29th.—As there was a high N.w. wind all day with showers of

64 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

sleet and snow I decided toremain at anchor. We landed after lunch to
investigate the low ground at the s.z. end of the island. When passing
the house I noticed a large quantity of black meat hanging up, and
learnt it was dried seal’s flesh, preserved for sale to the Russian seamen,
Most of the Norwegians will not eat it even when fresh, although in
1897 we found it palatable, much better than either Guillemot or
Long-tailed Ducks. The family had caught 208 seals here in nets
during the winter; and the remains of these carcasses still proved an
attraction to the Gulls. A number of Shore-Larks were feeding on
the manure heaps behind the house; and we saw several other small
flocks near the shore. A pair of White Wagtails were also near the
house. When we reached the coast we came upon one of the wildest
winter scenes imaginable; great snowdrifts twenty or thirty feet thick
lay in the lea of the bluffs and hills; the level ground also covered
with snow except where the gales had swept it clear; the sea cliff over
hundreds of feet of its surface a mass of icicles; while below the swell
produced by the northern gale rolled in great waves on to the beach.
Very fine, but we had come to see birds and their nests, not icicles.
During our walk we noted a Raven and two Shags, Long-tailed Ducks
and Common Eiders, also some Meadow-Pipits. A flock of some
hundreds of Waders—very wild—were wheeling over the sea; I
believe they were Dunlins, and I shot one of that species on the shore.
It began to snow again directly after we returned on board and con-
tinued most of the evening.

May 30th—I had gone on shore after breakfast to take some
photographs, when a Russian steamer came into the bay and at once
sent a boat to the Hzpres. Soon after, the steam whistle sounded to
recall me. Going on board I found two head officials of the police
awaiting me, and desiring an explanation of our presence there. How-
ever, the letters that Governor Engelhardt had so kindly furnished me
with at once put all in order; and we had a very pleasant hour’s chat,
Kjeldsen acting as interpreter. One officer took considerable interest
in birds, and said he had many stuffed at his home in Ekaterina; also

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 65

a record of eggs, kept by himself, his father, and his grandfather. It
is on occasions like this that a little cherry-brandy, preserved fruit,
&c., are useful.

As the wind seemed to have lessened, we left soon after 3 p.m.
(Kildin time is 2 h. 17 m. 26 s. fast of Greenwich), but as soon as we
were clear from the shelter of the island the vessel rolled and tossed
so much we were only able to cook some soup for dinner and that
with great difficulty. There was more snow in the evening; the sea
however went down at night, and when I went on deck at 4 a.m. the
morning was beautiful, with every promise of better weather.

May 31st.—As our old anchorage of 1895 behind Sviatoi Nos
was the nearest good harbour on this coast to Kanin Nos, I decided
to go there until the weather appeared favourable for crossing the
White Sea; and we dropped anchor behind Medveji island (so spelt
on the Admiralty chart, but Medvyezhi in the Arctic Pilot, 1898,
published by the Admiralty) at 10.20 a.m., after a run of nineteen
hours from Kildin island. Local time here is 2 h. 40 m. (within a
few seconds) fast of Greenwich. This proved to be the first fine day
since we left Tromsé on the 2oth, free from snow or rain, and a bright
sun throughout, making it really hot for walking. We landed on the
island after breakfast and spent some hours in exploring it, but found
very few birds compared with those seen during our visit on June 21,
1895. Not a twentieth part of the Black Guillemots had arrived yet,
and there was no sign of their having commenced to lay their eggs.
A few Great Black-backed, Herring, Common, and three Glaucous
Gulls were about the north end of the island. We also saw two
Richardson’s Skuas, two or three White Wagtails and Meadow-Pipits ;
and a few Cormorants, Eiders and Long-tailed Ducks on the sea A
pair of Ravens had a nest on a cliff over the sea, containing two young
whose wing-feathers were just showing, the rest of their bodies having
only down on. On June 6th—only six days after—these birds had
their bodies covered with feathers; young birds, large and small,

mature with wonderful rapidity in the north. The whole island had
E

66 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

evidently been under snow within the last few days, but it was now
quickly becoming clear in all but the most sheltered places. The
only eggs found were eight Gulls’, of which the Great Black-backs’
were too incubated for blowing. All the birds were very wild, for
three small Russian vessels were anchored in the straits, whose crews
appeared to be firing at everything that came within shot ; and a party
of them landed with guns just before we left.

After lunch we landed on the promontory which terminates in
Korovi point and divides the Ukanskoe river (Yukanka in Arctic
Pilot, 1898) from Svyatonoskaya or Yukan bay; and soon found the
ravine where the Rough-legged Buzzards nested in 1895, but there
were none here now. We climbed up to the top of the ridge and
walked along it until we were nearly opposite the village of Lutni; a
wild desolate country covered with erratics of all sizes. The only
signs of life were a few Snow-Buntings, some tame reindeer, and the
track of a hare. The day being clear, we had a good view of Sviatoi
Nos, its lighthouse, and the four small red-roofed houses for its keepers.

June 1st.—Captain Hansen had been very unwilling yesterday to
entertain the idea of taking the Hzpres up the river to Lutni; but I
explained that the Saxon had been there twice in 1895, and there was
no necessity for him to go above the village in search of the rock we
grounded on then, also that the distance from Medveji island to Lutni
was too great for the crew to row us every day, sometimes against a
heavy stream and tide. So he screwed up his courage this morning
and moved the ship up at high tide (6 a.m.) to a little below the point
where our camp was pitched in 1895. I landed and went up to the
old camping-ground; the trenches we had cut round the tents were
almost as distinct as when we left them. Plate 24 shows the state of
the country on the first day of “Summer.” The ice-floes in the fore-
ground are two feet thick, and are the remains of the winter's covering
over this part of the river. The spring tides here rise more than
fourteen feet. A few Redwings were singing in the birch-scrub, and
one or two White Wagtails were about the shore. After lunch we

PLAGE 27,

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RAVINE NEAR LUTNI.

4.35 p.m.

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PAGE

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 67

went across the river to Lutni. The spelling of this name has been
altered to Lyetni in the last edition of the Arctic Pilot, while Herr
Holmboe, Russian Vice-Consul at Vardo, renders it Litza. There is a
delightful uncertainty about the English spelling of Russian names, just
as there was respecting English spelling itself a hundred or more years
ago, and when the authorities cannot agree, an Englishman may take
his choice, and set his critics at defiance. I have generally followed
the spelling adopted by Governor Engelhardt in “A Russian Province
of the North,” and that on the Admiralty charts, as the latter had
been used in the article in the Jbis, 1899, but the later readings of
names in the Arctic Pilot are also given for convenience of reference.

We found the bulk of the summer inhabitants of Lutni had come,
although small parties continued to arrive for some days. Some of
the women were busy with the occupation so dear to females over
most of the known world, and equally hated by men—spring cleaning !
What a volume those two words convey to the poor masculine mind ;
books, papers, &e., lost for weeks, perhaps months. Here at Lutni it
was carried out in a most thorough manner, for everything movable
was turned out of doors while the rooms were scrubbed and washed.
Perhaps the size of the houses—see Plate 25—-was a reasonable
excuse for these drastic measures; still I doubt if any of the men
in Plate 26 were just then undergoing the infliction—they looked too
placid. The women’s dresses were mostly of bright coloured cotton
prints, and their headgear of cloth profusely ornamented with beads.
The majority of the men and women are quite as clean in their
persons and houses as those in a similar position of life in England ;
but it needs a Russian spring with its floods of melted snow and rain
to cleanse the surroundings. I am speaking now of the Pomors; most
Lapps and Samoyeds would be considerably improved by a more
liberal use of soap and water.

After taking some photographs, and watching two Martins which
kept well out of shot and so prevented our identifying the species (I
think they were House-Martins), we started for Lake Ukanskoe (now

68 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

spelt Yukanskoe in the Arctic Pilot), going up the valley, and thus
making the same mistake as in 1895, the result of not previously
reading up my old diary. This track leads on to the hills consider-
ably to the left of the lake; the direct route is over the hill on the
right side of the village when looking up the valley, and is a fairly
well-marked path most of the way. The first lake we came to—a
mile from Lutni and in the same valley—was clear from ice, and had
a pair of Red-throated Divers on it; but all the other small lakes we
passed were still frozen over, and some bore marks where sledges had
recently crossed. ‘Two pairs and a single Dotterel were on the hills, so
this species had commenced to return to its breeding-ground. Lake
Ukanskoe and its surroundings showed little signs of summer yet,
although this was the first day of that season, for much of the country
was covered with snowdrifts, and all the lake below the islands was
under ice except a small patch where the river leaves it. The upper
river had broken up a week or more before the date of our arrival,
and had piled its banks high with great blocks of ice eighteen inches
to two feet thick; the remainder had been carried down to the upper
part of the lake, where it lay heaped up on the islands and the lake-
ice. Both the islands and the shore line showed the water had been
five feet higher than its present level, during the early part of the
thaw.

In 1895 the hillside above the lake had been clothed with a
beautiful birch-wood, many of the trees fourteen to sixteen feet high,
the largest trees we saw in this part of the country. Now most of
these were gone, cut down for firewood when the snow was here, as
shown by the height of the stumps. This question of fuel must
become pressing in some parts of the country during the next fifteen
or twenty years. I noticed a marked diminution in the quantity
available since our last visit, and I am sure it is being cut down much
more quickly than Nature replaces it.

Two Ravens and a Rough-legged Buzzard were hunting round the
lake. A few Redwings had come, and a White Wagtail sat near us

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 69

most of the time we had lunch. I thought I saw a pair of Mealy
Redpolls, and a small Wader flew over one of the islands, but too far
off for identification. Several Geese and Divers passed over. We put
up six or eight Willow-Grouse, chiefly males; and a hen Ptarmigan
rose close to me, but had no nest. Two white hares were also seen,
both very wild. Not much to record as the result of an eight hours’
walk! a tiring one too, for at least five hours of it were against a
strong head wind, and a good deal of heavy snow had to be crossed.

One thing, however, the walk had made clear, viz., that little as
there was to keep us in a country we had already worked fairly well
in 1895, we had much better stay where we were for the present, as
if the season was so backward here, it was sure to be worse on the
east side of the White Sea. Here we were in a thoroughly safe
harbour—the only good one for a hundred miles either up or down
the coast, while on the other side there was no harbour.

June 2nd.—A slight snowstorm in morning, and it continued dull
and cold most of the day. ‘Two boatloads of men from the village
came on board to barter skins, caps, &c., with the crew. Hansen had
obtained nearly half a reindeer yesterday for a bucketful of biscuit.
Several of the men seemed to have plenty of roubles and anxious to
buy things for money, but when they were asked to sell, the price was
out of all proportion to the value, at least from our point of view.
The men told us there was no probability of finding Geese eggs for
another fortnight, as they did not lay till all the ice on Lake Ukan-
skoe had gone.

In the afternoon I went up to the lake above the old camp, from
an island on which Mr. Slater took a clutch of Black-throated Divers’
eggs on June 26, 1895. On the open water, which extended over
half its area, were three birds of this species swimming about in close
proximity; and I saw all three together on several occasions after-
wards, but never observed any fights for preference, like those between
Great Northern Divers in Iceland. Possibly in this case two were
females. At any rate I am certain there was only one nest after-

70 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

wards, for we searched every yard of the shore. A pair of Golden
Plovers and another of Buffon’s Skuas were near the lake, but neither
showed signs of having selected a nesting site yet. There appeared
to be a few more birds in the birch-scrub near the river; I only
identified Redwings and Meadow-Pipits.

June 3rd.—It being a beautifully bright morning we decided to
visit the gorge Feilden and I had been to on June 26, 1895, and
started at 10 am. accompanied by Kjeldsen and Thomas. Warned
by the experience of the previous expedition we kept below the stones
and above the birch-scrub, thus securing a much more comfortable
country to walk over. For the first mile or two the hills were covered
with reindeer tethered by long ropes to the erratics; the deer careered
wildly in all directions, requiring a little care on our part at times to
avoid their ropes. Not much chance of birds nesting in their neigh-
bourhood! I shot a male Wood-Sandpiper Zotanus glareola on the
fell at an elevation of 450 ft., the first we had seen this season. On
reaching the ravine at 1.30 p.m. we could find no trace of the Gyr-
Falcons Falco gyrfalco, and although Hetley saw a Rough-legged
Buzzard, neither species was nesting here, as was the case in 1895.
Three Ravens were there when we arrived; they soon left, and were
only hunting, not nesting, I think. Both rivers were bringing down
large volumes of water, and the view up the gorge in the bright sun-
light was fine. After taking some photographs we proceeded up the
side of the gorge two or three miles farther than we had done in
1895. From its junction with the Ukanskoe river this valley first
runs half a mile to the east, it then turns at a square angle towards
the south and continues in almost a straight line as far as can be seen
from the point we reached. Plate 27 shows the view of it we then
obtained. The photograph was taken with the half lens and gives
somewhat the same effect as looking through a pair of glasses. Both
sides of the ravine are nearly perpendicular and can only be descended
at afew points. I think it is clear neither water nor ice has cut this
channel, but the river has occupied a long rift, and has made little

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impression on the hard granite-like rocks since it did so, Rivers do
not generally cut straight lines or right angles.

A few Redwings were flying about disconsolately, for the birch
bushes which contained their last year’s nests now had two or three
feet of snow round them.

When going up we had had considerable trouble in crossing a side
stream, although we had selected a point where it was divided into
four or five separate channels. So on the return Kjeldsen suggested
we should keep on the higher ground, as he felt sure we should find
an easier way over there—very bad advice! When you have a cer-
tainty, stick to it, and don’t needlessly hunt for something better or
you may only fare worse, as we did. ‘That stream took us the way we
did not want to go, over dreadfully bad country; and the farther we
followed it up the hill, the broader and deeper it seemed to get. Large
stretches of boulders, similar to those described by Colonel Feilden
(“Beyond Petsora Hastward,” p. 246), had their interstices full of
water, held up by snowdrifts below; while others were covered with
snow, and water under, into which we continually slipped. On one of
these snow-covered areas I shot a male Willow-Grouse, a very hand-
some bird with large orange-vermilion wattles over his eyes, his head
and neck a rich russet brown down to the shoulders, lightly pencilled
on the upper parts with black, about a dozen dark brown feathers on
the back, tail feathers sooty brown, edged with white, and the re-
mainder of his body and wings pure white; feet fully feathered (as
shown in Mr. Dresser’s “ Birds of Europe,” Plate 485, October 18th,
only more so), I hit his companion—male or female I cannot say,
probably the former, as plumage was identical—but without a dog it
was impossible to retrieve a bird showing so much white on those
snow wastes. After about two miles of this kind of work I had
decided to return to the place I knew we could cross, but waited to
watch Kjeldsen, some 300 yards ahead, making a final effort and
wading through snow-slush up to his knees; suddenly he floundered
in to his waist, then struggled on till he reached dry land, and sat

72 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

down to remove his boots and lower garments. He was over, and
where he had gone we must follow. Deadly cold, that snow and
water were. Still, after wringing out our stockings, &c., and walking
sharply for a mile or two, we felt no serious discomfort.

We now made for the highest part of the fell, and found fairly
good walking most of the way back. On one of the high points (600
feet above sea-level) Hetley sighted a pair of Ptarmigan, and secured
the female, I getting the male. The latter was yet almost white ; the
upper part of his head had moulted into summer plumage, except
some dozen feathers, which looked like small snow-flakes resting
there; throat white; a few dark feathers on the upper neck and
back; thirteen black tail feathers, some of them tipped with white ;
and an orange-vermilion wattle over the eyes, not so fully developed
as in the Willow-Grouse shot shortly before. The female was much ©
more advanced in her moult, only retaining the white on the under
parts and the outer wing feathers, both of which would be concealed
when she was sitting. (Her plumage is well represented on Plate 478,
Dresser’s “ Birds of Europe,” except that in the latter the under parts
are whiter and the back darker in tone.) This species had not been
seen in the district when we were here in 1895. |

During the walk we saw Geese—first three, then two, and one ;
only the last showed any sign of beginning to nest, as it circled round
once or twice; the others went straight away. Much of the ground
crossed seemed suitable for their nesting. The only other birds seen
during the day, not mentioned before, were a few Meadow-Pipits, one
or two White Wagtails on the fells, and some Golden Plover. We
regained the ship at 10 p.m., and were glad of dry things and dinner
after our twelve hours’ tramp.

June 4th—As the morning was bright and sunny, I landed at
noon to take some photographs in the village, one of which is repre-
sented in Plate 28. The sledge here depicted is much more highly
finished and ornate than those in ordinary use, and is evidently re-
served for the family in travelling from their winter to their summer

PLATE 30.

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 73

quarters. This one was painted in red, blue, and white; others in
green, &c. I think the man sitting behind the woman is her father ;
her husband is shown in Plate 35. Returning to the village after
lunch, I was busy photographing the sledge and reindeer (Plate 29)
when Kjeldsen said “We may have fog”—there was then a small
dark cloud to the north over the sea, not nearly so large as “a man’s
hand.” In twenty minutes the whole sky was covered with low
cloudy mist, and later in the afternoon fog shut out everything more
than half a mile away. As photographs were no longer possible, we
went to the lake above Lutni, visited on the 1st. The Divers were
still there, but not a sign of any new nest; nor did they afterwards
make one during our stay, so I expect they were using this lake till
some other, less disturbed, should be free from ice. I shot another
Wood-Sandpiper (male) on the margin of the lake; also a male Red-
spotted Blue-throat in some birch-scrub near. The latter was the
first seen or heard this year; and as the males give you every
opportunity of hearing their beautiful song during most of the
twenty-four hours it is probable they had only just arrived. Another
fresh arrival was the Ringed Plover, three or four of which were on
the margin of the pool below the village; none being there two days
before.

During the day a large quantity of fresh-water ice has gone past
the ship, evidently from Lake Ukanskoe, as these are clear green
blocks which have had all their upper crust of snow knocked off in
their passage down the rapids of the river. After the beautifully fine
morning, we experienced a raw, cold, foggy evening, with the rigging
and everything on deck dripping, when a fire was not only comfortable
but necessary in the cabin. Such are the vicissitudes of an arctic
climate !

June 5th.—The fog still continued this morning, but cleared off
after noon, leaving the sun in undisputed possession for the remainder
of the day. I went through the scrub near our anchorage for an
hour, finding only two old Redwing nests. Several male Blue-throats

74 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

had come, and Redwings were singing in all directions—as they do
day and night just now.

My chief object in visiting the Russian coast so early this year
was to obtain eggs of the Bean-Goose Anser segetum, which is the
commonest goose of the Murman coast, as far as my observations go,
for we had always been too late to find anything but goslings in
previous years. It was rather trying, therefore, to be told on arrival
we were a fortnight too soon; and still more so, to have that con-
firmed by two or three days’ unsuccessful search. Thinking it
probable the natives would know where to find the nests, I engaged
a nice young fellow—the husband of the girl on the sledge in Plate
28—with whom Kjeldsen could speak a little, to go with us. As
both he and the principal men all said that most of the geese
nested in the district round Lake Ukanskoe, we started in that
direction, but kept considerably more to the right than we had
previously done. The day was warm, and at first this young man
took us up the hills at a most uncomfortable pace; after two miles
of it I was wondering how I could put the break on him, when
fortunately he saw a reindeer belonging to a neighbour which had
broken loose. This deer had no intention of returning to Lutni at
present, but it was caught after considerable trouble by a very
amusing artifice. Then our troubles were over, for nothing would
induce that beast to walk beyond a certain pace, and one which we
found corresponded exactly with our own ideas on the subject.

I soon discovered our young friend’s chief idea was to find his
birds first—a very reasonable one; he would crawl up to the top of
a ridge, and then search the valley and slopes in front with my
glasses, which he very quickly learnt to use. We made a long loop
course over the hills with Lake Ukanskoe at the end of the loop,
but without result; for we only saw three pairs of geese, or rather,
I strongly suspect, the same pair three times, as we found them some
distance farther on in the direction they went when put up. Hach
time they were feeding on patches of sphagnum-moss—their favourite

‘94 ADV

INLAT “GYVASAVYD

ULUIOVELL me Gye hivaeey

aT, Cancel Viale yi

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND ah

food—and showed no signs of nesting. Shortly before reaching the
lake we shot a nice pair of Willow-Grouse; these were near the top
of the hill at an elevation of 550 feet. The male's plumage cor-
responded with that shot on the 3rd in the distribution of the colour
and white, but the former was of a much darker tone, and contained
more black. The amount of colour on the female was very similar
to that on the female Ptarmigan, the lighter part being of a burnt-
sienna colour in place of the yellow-sienna of the latter, and the feet
were free from feathers. On dissection, their crops proved to be full
of the ends of birch twigs—not sufficiently swollen to be called
buds—and a little crowberry. The eggs in the ovary of the female
had not begun to enlarge. Close to them we secured a male
Ptarmigan, all three being shot in the valley on the left of Plate 30.
This plate is included chiefly on account of the large size of the
erratic, one unbroken mass, which occupies nearly the full width of
the picture. It was a large sheet of ice which carried this “pebble,”
and dropped it on this hill-top 550 feet above the present sea-level.
The Pomor and his reindeer are in the centre, while Kjeldsen, holding
the male Willow-Grouse, sits near the end of the erratic to the left.
I should say that the lumps—each the size of half a large walnut—
on the body of the reindeer are caused by the maggot of a fly;
although these spoil the skins and cause the poor beasts much pain,
none of their owners appear to take any steps to remove them. The
reindeer stopped very quietly while we had lunch, and tried to take
the man’s bread out of his pocket, but would not eat Dutch cheese.
In feeding, it used its.lips with a constant quick movement to gather
the lichen off the ground, taking but little of the crowberry.

On reaching the lake we found that two-thirds of its surface was
now free froin ice, and the level of the water had risen so much that
most of the islands were covered, their positions only indicated by the
willow-scrub. The large blocks of ice photographed on the 3rd had
been swept down or covered by the flood. Evidently the snow on
the hills bordering the upper part of the river was now melting

76 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

rapidly, as there was no increased supply from the immediate vicinity
of the lake to account for the rise. The Russian maps show another
and larger lake some miles higher up the river; but we were unable
to penetrate so far into the country.

We saw a pair of Richardson’s Skuas and two Dunlins on the
hills, and also shot a male Golden Plover and a female Dotterel ;
the latter contained an egg ready for the shell, and another enlarging.
Just before reaching the shore on our return Hetley found a Shore-
Lark's nest with one egg, much to his delight, as it was the first time
he had seen this species in situ, and it was the first egg—other than
Gulls and Eider Duck—we had seen since we left Riso fourteen
days ago.

I paid our man two and a half roubles, half a rouble more than
the bargain, as he had worked well, and gave him a half-pound box
of tobacco, at which he was greatly pleased; for he was constantly
making cigarettes at every little halt; a difficult task with tobacco—
chiefly dust—which neither looked nor smelt very attractively. He
presented me in return with a new pair of gloves made from reindeer-
skin, which would have been splendid for winter driving, if I could
have found any furrier in England to remove the smell from them.

It was a beautiful night, and although only a degree north of the
Arctic Circle, we could write in the cabin at midnight as easily as
at mid-day.

June 6th.—Another splendid day with brilliant sunshine through-
out. After the weather we experienced in the early part of our
voyage, days such as this make an impression on the memory. I
found three or four Temminck’s Stints by the pool under the village,
the first seen this year, as I went up to photograph the cemetery,
Plate 31, which is on a hill to the south-east of the village. Many
of the graves must be close to the level of the ground, as there is
very little soil above the granite here. All the memorials were of
wood, and they varied considerably in design, &. Some bore long
inscriptions, others only initials and a date painted or carved, while

PLATE 32B.

Pishiee 321A.

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La

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SHORE LARKS’ NESTS.

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PENINSULA.

KANIN

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1.10 p.m.

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 77

many had only symbols. The circles on the cross to the right were
filled with small icons and paintings of saints. The whole area was
surrounded by a rough fence, parts of which had become much
dilapidated, but there were no other signs of want of care or reverence
in the treatment of this “God's Acre” in the far north; the fact
which struck me most, however, was that on nine-tenths of the graves
there lay an old axe! (even on those which from their size must have
contained babies), some axes with and some without handles, while
many graves had two or three. One with a handle may be seen at
the foot of the cross with icons. All, like their late owners, were
past service here. On inquiry I was told that these axes were placed
there for the dead to use in chopping wood to make their first fire
in the next world. If this be so, it is a curious example of the
mingling of very different religious beliefs, and of the longevity of
ancient pagan superstitions; for these Pomors must have been under
the influence and teaching of the Greek Church for hundreds of years.
The Greek chapel here is a small wooden building about 16 feet by
12 feet, by 6 feet high at the eaves; and is situated on the same side
of the village as the cemetery, but nearer the fjord. It is so similar
to that on Kanin Nos, shown on Plate 36, that it is unnecessary to
reproduce the photograph of it.

After lunch we rowed down to the Zelenoi and Medveji islands.
The first was void of bird-life, except a Long-tailed Duck on a pool
and two Waders feeding below the tide-line; and on the second birds
had made very little progress in nesting matters since our visit on the
31st. A few Shore-Larks were courting, and very earnest they were
over it. Two pairs of Richardson’s Skuas appeared to have no settled
plans respecting their nests. A pair of Red-throated Divers were on
the tarn, but soon left, and there was no sign of a nest having been
commenced. No Black Guillemots were on land, nor were there
nearly so many on the adjacent sea; the birds had dispersed over all
parts of the estuary. By climbing down on to a projecting mass of rock
I succeeded in taking a photograph of the Raven’s nest, with Kjeldsen

78 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

poking the two young birds up, they sitting on the edge of the nest to
bless him ; the distance was too great, however, for them to be seen as
clearly as I hoped they would. The old birds were about, very un-
easy, but keeping well out of shot. I have never known Ravens run
any serious danger in defence of their young. |

Large numbers of duck were on the sea as we returned to the
ship; among them we noted Common and Velvet Scoter, Long-
tailed Duck (numerous), Hider, and Scaup Fuligula marila, I shot a
Glaucous Gull and saw several others, the first we had identified
clearly in this district. The bird shot measured 5 ft. 2 in. from tip to
tip of wing and 2 ft. 2 in. from beak to end of tail. Unfortunately four
more of them came to an untimely end that evening, not in the cause
of science but the “ pot,” as some of the crew took a boat down the
fjord and shot both them and some Long-tailed Duck, all of which they
afterwards declared were very good! The Glaucous Gull is a fine bold
bird in his own country, and comes swooping down at you, apparently
with the idea you are shooting birds for his benefit.

June 7th.—Another fine bright day made us think that summer
really was coming. Many Willow-Wrens had arrived and were singing
in the scrub; I thought I heard one yesterday, but was not certain.
I also saw the first Mealy Redpoll to-day, to identify. We landed
after lunch in search of geese, and worked up towards the gorge until
we were stopped by a stream too wide and deep to be crossed with
comfort. All the tributaries of the river were so swollen now with
the melting snow that it was most difficult to get over them without
a thorough wetting. Having carefully crawled nearly up a hill which
overlooked the most likely goose country on this side of the river, it
was distinctly aggravating to hear two geese come up behind us,
uttering their loud honks; they at once alarmed two others who rose
in front just before we were able to see over the hill, and thus know
the point they rose from. We found a Redwing’s nest with two eggs,
and also a Shore-Lark’s ; so that the birds are beginning to lay at last.
The former nest was an old one, re-lined; and was placed in the fork

PLATE *33.

TWO LAPPS AT LUTNI.

PaGE 84.

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 79

of a birch tree which had squeezed the nest into an oval shape. The
tarns and lakes on the hills were now rapidly becoming free from ice,
although one at the highest point reached still had only a small piece
clear, in spite of the water being three feet higher than its usual level.
Two Black-throated Divers were here, and refused to leave for some
time; but it was certain they had no nest. On the return journey a
female Lapland-Bunting rose close to us, but we could find neither a
nest nor a mate.

June 8th—After breakfast I landed to photograph the Shore-
Lark’s nest, found on the 5th with one egg; it now contained four
(Plate 324). The position of the nest is a typical one for this species,
being placed beside a tuft of dry grass, and having the upper edge of
nest level with the ground. In 1895 we found eight nests of this
species on various dates from June 24th to July 24th: of these five
contained four eggs, two had three, and one—that on July 24th—
only one egg. In 1897 four nests were taken, two of which contained
five eggs, one had four, and one three. The first was June 30th, the
latest July 11th. We only found one nest in 1899, which contained
two eggs on June 21st. In 1901 we were successful in securing three
nests with four eggs and one with two, the first taken June 7th and
the last June 21st. From my observations during these four years I
think the Shore-Lark is one of the earliest of the passerine birds to
return to its northern home, and that some pairs commence breeding
directly the snow is sufficiently melted ; but the time of nesting varies
more in this species than in many other birds inhabiting the same
countries. On the same day we have found young birds and fresh
eggs; and that at a date when the latter could scarcely be a second
laying. This is not so with Fieldfares and others, of which, if the
traveller finds his first nest with young birds, he may consider himself
fortunate should he afterwards obtain fairly fresh eggs. The Shore-
Lark appears to make the hollow in which its nest is placed; and
nine times out of ten it selects a spot close to a dry tuft of grass, the
colour of which harmonises well with that of the bird.

80 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

In the afternoon Kjeldsen and I went ashore to endeavour to find
some Dotterel we had put up the night before, and which seemed
loath to leave the place; but to-day they had moved a mile to
another hill. These birds are far tamer when disturbed at night than
by day. I put a Redwing off a nest with five eggs placed on the
ground on top of a small ridge, and protected by a quantity of
creeping birch—a good dry position ; the bird was afemale. The nest
was certainly an old one, as last year’s lining was distinct and contained
a few little pieces of birch twigs and old leaves, over which was a
thin new lining of fine grass, while the lower part of the nest was
sodden and contained an earth worm. I have frequently noticed that
old nests are used a second time in the north, a proceeding which
enables the bird to commence laying directly after she arrives, and
thus economises time in this brief arctic summer. The number of
Mealy Redpolls, Willow-Wrens, and Blue-throats has considerably in-
creased since yesterday.

After hunting up the Dotterel we struck across a new part of the
country to the east, and found two fair-sized lakes divided by a bank,
the water level being six feet higher in one than the other. On the
upper lake were ten Velvet Scoters, several of them pairing. Three
Bufton’s Skuas were similarly engaged, the graceful rapid flight of
this species being shown to perfection as the two males fought in the
air. This season of the year produces much bad temper in the
feathered tribe. On the next lake three Long-tailed Ducks were
settling their domestic matters; after a time the rejected one went
to another part of the lake, and relieved his feelings by harrying two
Common Gulls which were asleep on a small stone projecting above
the water; he drove them from two stones in succession and obliged
them to leave that part. The stones were a hundred yards from
shore or island, so this was no case of disturbing a proposed breeding-
place. Three Redshanks were seen near the twin lakes, and we also
noted a male Lapland-Bunting. Much ice came down the stream in
the evening, probably from the lake, as the sides of the river are now

"10-9-91

£8 ADV

INLAT 3LISOddO dNVO YNO

“S$ 04

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 81

practically clear. This caused trouble to the Russians; a number of
boats being required for hours to watch the salmon nets and prevent
the ice floes sweeping them away. The men began to catch a few
salmon about this date; they offered one of the first to us, but as
they asked ten roubles for a medium-sized fish no trade resulted.

June 9th— One of the men brought on board a dead male Bramb-
ling in handsome spring plumage, which appeared to have died nearly
a week before from starvation, as its stomach contained no vestige of
food. The first Red-throated Pipit was seen this morning, near the
river. The Shore-Lark’s nest found on the 5th still had only four
eggs, showing the clutch to be complete. The bird remained on the
nest while we stood three feet off, and had commenced sitting, for one
ege showed the red embryo.

June toth—The snow had now cleared off the land so much,
and the weather had been so warm and fine for some days, I decided
to make an attempt to reach Cape Kanin. We steamed through
thick fog all day until 6.30 p.m., when floating ice obliged us to lie-to
for some time.

June 11th.—The mate called me at 2 a.m. to say they had sighted
land. Going on deck I found the fog had cleared off and the Kanin
peninsula lay stretched along the horizon some twelve miles off. We
steamed in a S.E. direction till 6 am. when the land was only four miles
away, but much ice lay between us and it, and in fact all around ex-
cept in the direction whence we had come; it was too thick to risk a
little iron vessel like the Zxpres in, and indeed whatever my ideas on
the subject might be, Captain Hansen had no intention of trying the
experiment. His nerves—never of the most robust order when in
unknown waters—had received a shock in Spitsbergen last year,
when the ice closed in on the Zxpres and broke the propeller; but
fortunately the vessel was got to land, and after a week’s work a new
propeller was fixed.

The coast line at the point reached was broken up by a number of

ravines or gulleys; it showed two distinct terraces in some parts, and
F

82 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

appeared to rise to hills 200 feet high or more in the interior. Much
snow lay on all the slopes, but the flat pieces were fairly clear; and
that was all we were destined to know of the country at present, for
even with glasses not many details can be learned at a distance of four
miles !

We were obliged to turn and steam out of the bay in the ice, and
then made towards the s.s.z. in the hope that it would prove to be
more open. Soon after turning, a Snowy Owl passed us flying to-
wards the land, the first and only one seen this year. We continued
to the s.E. and s. along the ice until it became too dense to allow of
further progress. At that time the outer edge of the ice was closely
packed for several hundred yards in, as if two currents were driving
it in opposite ways; but beyond that belt there was more ice than
water between us and the coast now some eight or nine miles distant.
The ice also extended far to the s.w. on the horizon. As the day was
beautifully bright and clear we had every facility for observing the
difficulties of our position. The ice was five to six feet thick, and
much of it very dirty, so it had probably come out of Mezen bay in
which it breaks up rather later than in other parts of the White
Sea; in fact, the western side, which is the commercial route to
Archangel, &c., becomes free from ice six weeks earlier than the
eastern side. It being certain that there was no possibility of making
land at present, we were obliged to return to our old anchorage, where
we arrived safely after fourteen hours’ steaming, but in such a blinding
snowstorm that it was with difficulty the captain could find his way
up the river.

June 12th—As quite a week would be required to disperse the
ice, I decided to go into camp and send the Hxpres to Vardo for
letters and a few stores for the men. After the tents were fixed on
the old spot we had occupied in 1895, Kjeldsen and I crossed the
river to interview the headman of the village, to ensure the safety of
our things without being obliged to leave some one always in charge.
I handed him the Governor’s letter, which he read, and then made a

82 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

appeared to rise to hills 200 feet high or more in the interior. Much
snow lay on all the slopes, but the flat pieces were fairly clear; and
that was all we were destined to know of the country at present, for
even with glasses not many details can be learned at a distance of four
miles !

We were obliged to turn and steam out of the bay in the ice, and
then made towards the ss.E. in the hope that it would prove to be
more open. Soon after turning, a Snowy Owl passed us flying to-
wards the land, the first and only one seen this year. We continued
to the sz. and s. along the ice until it became too dense to allow of
further progress. At that time the outer edge of the ice was closely
packed for several hundred yards in, as if two currents were driving
it in opposite ways; but beyond that belt there was more ice than
water between us and the coast now some eight or nine miles distant.
The ice also extended far to the s.w. on the horizon. As the day was
beautifully bright and clear we had every facility for observing the
difficulties of our position. The ice was five to six feet thick, and
much of it very dirty, so it had probably come out of Mezen bay in
which it breaks up rather later than in other parts of the White
Sea; in fact, the western side, which is the commercial route to
Archangel, &c., becomes free from ice six weeks earlier than the
eastern side. It being certain that there was no possibility of making
land at present, we were obliged to return to our old anchorage, where
we arrived safely after fourteen hours’ steaming, but in such a blinding
snowstorm that it was with difficulty the captain could find his way
up the river. |

June 12th—As quite a week would be required to disperse the
ice, I decided to go into camp and send the Hxpres to Vardo for
letters and a few stores for the men. After the tents were fixed on
the old spot we had occupied in 1895, Kjeldsen and I crossed the
river to interview the headman of the village, to ensure the safety of
our things without being obliged to leave some one always in charge.
I handed him the Governor’s letter, which he read, and then made a

PLate 35.

BUGRYANTZA (|?) RIVER, KANIN

Pace

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 8 3

copy of it to be posted outside his house. He also gathered the boys
together and gave them strict orders to touch nothing in or around
our tents. I may say here that his orders were effective, for we missed
nothing during our stay, although the people were constantly passing
the tents on their way to attend to the reindeer, and the camp was
left unprotected for hours every day.

The man showed us into a comfortable little sitting-room, in
which a wooden bedstead with red curtains occupied one corner, while
another was filled by a brick stove quite as large as the bed; still
sufficient room remained to afford seats for seven of us. ‘The walls,
neatly papered with even a frieze round the top, were hung with
framed photographs of the children, friends, &c., and some coloured
prints. Everything about the place was scrupulously clean, and from
what I saw of the mistress I should be sorry for those who made it
otherwise.

After our interview we went up on the hills on the west side of
the river, a part I had not previously visited. On reaching a point
opposite the large moraine described by Colonel Feilden in 1895
(“ Beyond Petsora Eastward,” App. F., p. 247), 1 found what appeared
to be a continuation of it, extending over the hills for some distance ;
at any rate the two formed parts of one almost straight line. If this
be correct, the glacier must have filled up the entire valley between,
besides covering the hills on both sides. The ends of the moraines
were nearly two miles apart, but the whole of the intervening space
was composed of hillsides too steep for moraines to rest upon, so the
stones carried down on that portion of the glacier are now probably
some of those forming the banks of the river—far too large to be
water-borne.

The birds noted were a pair of ‘Wheatears, two pairs of Golden
Plover, and two of Dotterel; the last had evidently selected their
nesting-ground, and one bird pretended to be lame, but a careful
search only revealed an empty nest.

Salmon seemed to be coming up the river more freely, as the

84 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

headman sold us a good fish for two roubles; it proved to be in
splendid condition and was a very acceptable change from tinned
food.

June 13th.—I learnt to-day that more than twenty youths had
been scouring the country in the hope of securing the three roubles
I had offered yesterday for a nest and eggs of any goose, but without
result ; so it looks as if the natives had as much difficulty in finding
them as we have, for it scarcely seems probable that the birds have
not laid yet, on June 13th. Our camp life is an unfailing source of
entertainment to the natives (males) who sit down for an hour at a
time and watch us dress, wash, cook, &c., with the deepest interest.
This audience was a little embarrassing at first, but we soon got used
to it, and at last they tired of the “show,” for we made a point of
giving them nothing. Plate 33 represents two men of the village
who were said to be Lapps; but if so, I much doubt whether he
on the left was pure bred. Both coats were made of reindeer skin,
one having the hair out and the other inside.

We struck across the hills to the east until we reached a small
river running into the head of Svyatonoskaya bay; parts of the river
looked as if they would afford good fishing. Birds were scarce after
leaving the birch-scrub, three Geese, four pairs of Golden Plover, and
two or three Dotterel being the principal ones seen. Several Shore-
Larks were still courting. Heavy showers of sleet during most of the
afternoon and evening made the walking bad. A nest of six eggs of
Redwing, partly incubated, near the camp, was our only booty.

June 14th.—Rain set in at noon, and continued till 11 p.m., ac-
companied by heavy wind, so that the tents became soaked towards
night and began to leak slightly in one or two places. Not a pleasant
day.

June 15th.—The rain had cleared off, but there was a heavy wind
from the n.w. which must have been a gale at sea. After breakfast
we went up the country near the river, while Kjeldsen crossed to the
village to buy a salmon and some bread. He got a good fish of

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 85

6 lbs. for 1 rouble 70 copeck, and two cakes of white bread 10 inches
diameter and 24 inches thick, flavoured with aniseed and a little
peppermint! the only kind available except black rye-bread, for which
he paid fivepence each. A line of mail steamers has recently been
established between this coast and Archangel which enables the fisher-
men to send their catch to market while fresh, and thus obtain a
better price for it. At present they are receiving fifteen roubles per
pood (equal to rodd. per lb.) for salmon in Archangel.

While Kjeldsen was at Lutni he saw one of our tents suddenly
collapse! and as we descended the hill after our walk we also realised
one was prostrate ; so we hurried down, to find one end of the top pole
smashed off and both the other poles badly damaged. Being made of
bamboo, and three or four years old, I suppose the strain of the gale
had been too much for them; but I believe the disaster was partly
caused by the upright poles being gradually forced into the soft ground,
and thus leaving the ropes too slack; so afterwards we always put
a piece of board under them to prevent their sinking. On our arrival
Kjeldsen was already busy repairing damages, and few but a Norwegian
could have done it with an axe and knife as his chief tools. He cut
down some of the straightest birch he could find, fitted them into the
bamboos, and bound them with copper-wire and string; but the most
difficult thing was to bore a hole through the birch to receive the iron
spike on the top of the other pole, for of course all the tools required
were on the steamer. After two hours’ work the tent was ready for
re-fixing ; this proved no light task, for the wind was still very heavy,
and once wrenched the whole away from us, though fortunately with-
out doing further damage. I decided to have ash poles in future.
This delayed us so much that it was 9.30 p.m. before we turned out
for our daily walk, which eventually brought us to the river seen on
the 13th, but two miles higher up its course. The chief event of the
night was finding a Lapland-Bunting’s nest with six eggs, and securing
both the old birds. The nest contained a quantity of reindeer hair
felted with fine grass, also two or three white feathers, and was in the

86 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

side of a hillock amongst crowberry plants, which is the usual position
selected by this species. I was surprised not to find more birds about,
for this tract of land was covered with similar hillocks, moss-grown
stones, dwarf sallow, birch, and hollows filled with little pools of water ;
—a very “birdy-looking ” stretch of country. After crossing it we put
up a pair of Snow-Buntings from a large mass of loose rocks, but a
long search failed to reveal their nest. A Snipe was drumming over
a marsh near, the first seen this year. When coming out we had put
up a Dotterel on the hill above camp; and thinking it was the watch-
ing, not the sitting bird, we left it till our return, when we soon found
the latter and one egg. The nest was close beside a stone twice the
size of a man’s head; an unusual thing, as these birds seem to prefer
an entirely open space. (This statement is at variance with that of
the late T. C. Heysham, quoted in the 4th edition of “ Yarrell,” p. 248,
who says the birds usually select a site near a stone. I can only say
that of the twelve or fourteen nests I have seen, the above was the
first in such a position.) We left that egg for the clutch to be com-
pleted, and when we next visited it the village boys had forestalled us.
This was the only egg of the Dotterel found this year.

The first flowers of the marsh marigold were seen on the 12th.
To-day they are opening in all sheltered positions, and one piece of
white saxifrage is out on the hill.

June 16th.— Leaving camp at IO p.m., we crossed the river and
went by a new line of country to Lake Ukanskoe. The only item of
interest on the way there was a Red-throated Diver's nest with two
eggs, the first this year. On reaching the lake we walked three-
quarters of a mile farther up toward the head than the point pre-
viously reached, and were rewarded by finding a colony of ten to
fifteen pairs of Fieldfares, a bird not seen in this district in 1895.
All the nests found contained six eggs, and in those eggs taken chicks
were just formed, showing that the whole colony had begun to breed
at the same time. One clutch are the smallest eggs I ever saw, and if
the bird had not been shot I should have said they were those of the

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 87

Redwing. Half the nests were in juniper bushes, others in birch
trees. Near these a Redwing’s nest also had six eggs slightly in-
cubated. We found here the first nest of the Mealy Redpoll this
season, with four eggs, placed in a juniper bush. Both birds came
close to me, and the female settled on the nest several times while I
was blowing the eggs six feet off.

We saw a few Bramblings, one Snipe, ten Velvet Scoters, and two
or three small duck, apparently Teal. Many Willow-Wrens were sing-
ing round us, and some other birds whose notes I did not know. No
Rough-legged Buzzards were seen all night. I have been much struck
with the absence of these birds this year. In 1895 we found seven
nests in seven days, while in 1901 we never saw a new nest, although
we covered a far larger extent of country; and only two or three birds
were met with, some of these being probably the same bird seen twice.
It is very certain that no complete idea can be formed of the bird-life
of any of these northern countries from the results of one summer
alone. The lake was quite clear from ice to-day; and yellow violas,
which had not opened yesterday, were in flower round our landing-
place.

Plate 34 represents our camp at Lutni, which was photographed
to-day. The tent on the left was that we occupied, and is described
in the Appendix. The hold-all in front of Kjeldsen’s tent contains our
bedding, which was strapped up every morning to prevent its getting
damp. The iron chimney belongs to a small Norwegian stove of the
pattern used in Norway on the fishing boats; this stove proved a
great comfort. Near it is a wooden box lined with zinc, most useful
for keeping provisions.

June 17th.—Another long walk to-night on the Lutni side of the
river gave very slight results for some hours. When returning I put a
Wheatear off seven fresh eggs, the nest being under a stone close to the
Russian’s path from the lake. Then Hetley walked on to a Willow-
Grouse with twelve handsomely marked eggs. As soon as we sat
down the bird returned and stood within twenty feet quietly watching

88 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

us, but through the glasses a nervous look could be seen in her eye,
showing she felt things were going wrong with those eggs. The nest
was placed under a few pieces of birch, left by some Finn when
cutting firewood. Less than half a mile beyond we had the pleasure
of catching a Golden Plover asleep, or perhaps to be more accurate,
without the second bird in attendance to give warning of danger. We
were only thirty yards off when it rose from the nest of four eggs.
Golden Plovers are most aggravating birds; when they are at all
numerous they certainly assist each other in misleading you as to the
position of the nest, and appear to take up the duty in relays. While
crossing the last hill above the river, a Shore-Lark rose from four eggs
slightly incubated, the nest being on a piece of level ground with the
usual tuft of grass beside it.

On reaching the river at 8.30 a.m., we were glad to see the Hxpres
had returned to her anchorage. She had been detained at Vardo by
bad weather. Hansen reported the fishing there had also been bad, a
line carrying one thousand six hundred hooks having caught two cod !

June 18th.—We struck camp after breakfast, and leaving the men
to get the things on board, went up to a lake described on the 2nd
instant. Although there are twenty to thirty lakes in the district,
this is the only one containing an island, a fact we much regretted,
as islands where no boat is available, generally afford breeding-ground
for a variety of birds. Kjeldsen preferred wading out to helping in
carrying the india-rubber boat up the hill, at least until he found out
how cold the water was, and how bad the large stones were to walk
on with bare feet! However, he got back safely with eggs of Black-
throated Divers’ (two fresh), Long-tailed Duck (seven slightly in-
cubated, six fresh), Common Gull (three slightly incubated), and Arctic
Tern (one fresh). While I was blowing the eggs a third Diver joined
the pair and swam about with them for some time (see June 2nd).

June t9th—We moved down to the islands in the morning, in-
tending to start for the Kanin peninsula; but the wind was from the
wrong quarter, so there was nothing for it but to anchor and await a

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 89

change. The birds on Medveji island had now begun to lay. Among
them were three pairs of Richardson’s Skuas, which formed a curious
example of colour, one pair being both dark birds; another, both
white breasted; and the third, one light and one dark. Of course
this variation of colour is a very old fact; but it was remarkable that
the only three pairs on the island should exhibit all three combina-
tions. The Black Guillemots were laying all round the island in
hundreds, many of them having two eggs; and hundreds, almost
thousands, of these birds were on the sea. A pair of Turn-
stones showed anxiety on the east side of the island, and I at
once gave them undivided attention, but it was two hours before I
found the nest, and then by good luck. It was placed under a large
overhanging shelf of peat, in such a position that the bird could slip
on and off in two different directions according to that from which
danger was threatened. The young were formed in the four in-
cubated eggs.

June 20th.—Fog in the morning prevented an early start, but by
mid-day it had cleared enough for the captain to make out his
channel between the islands. As on the 1oth, it became thick again
directly we reached the open sea, and remained so most of the day ;
to-day the sea was very quiet. We sighted Cape Kanin at I1 p.m,
and then steamed down the coast in search of a suitable place for
landing.

June 21st—Knowing there was no harbour on the whole of this
coast where even a little vessel like the Expres could obtain a safe
anchorage, and that the weather might at any time curtail our stay,
I decided to select a spot for first venture midway between the high
land at the cape and the low tundra, chiefly marshes, which occupy
the whole district about the Chizha river (Chischa river, Rae). We
landed at 9.30 a.m. at the mouth of a river about forty-two miles
south of Cape Kanin, and found a good place for camping on the top
of the bluff, close to a small Greek chapel. Local time here is
2h. 56 m. fast of Greenwich.

gO BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

We were naturally anxious to know the name of the river near
which we had landed. From a study of the charts and Arctic Pilot I
felt convinced it was the Torna river, while our captain and crew were
equally certain it was the Shoina. My chief argument in reply was
that if they were correct the log had been badly kept, for it showed
42 miles from Cape Kanin, agreeing with the reported position of the
Torna, whereas the Shoina was stated to be 50 miles distant from
Cape Kanin. In this dilemma I wrote to His Excellency Governor
Engelhardt, and received the following reply :—

Dear Srr,—I have received your letters of July 8th and October 2nd.
My answer to your first letter has been delayed, because I had not sufficient
information respecting the Greek churches on the Kanin peninsula.

After further enquiry I now learn that there are no churches or chapels on
either the Torna or Shoina rivers. On the whole Kanin peninsula there are
only seven chapels resembling simple warehouses; of these six are on the
rivers near to the Njes, and the northernmost one is on the Bugrjanka
(Bugryanitza?) river. Therefore I think the river you have visited this
summer, on which you found a chapel, was neither the Shoina nor the Torna.

—I remain, Sir, yours truly,
(Signed) A. ENGELHARDT,
Governor of Saratow.

So that I can still give no certain information as to the exact spot
visited by us on the Kanin peninsula. The Njes mentioned by
Governor Engelhardt is probably the river Nes of the Arctic Pilot,
35 miles to the south of Cape Konushin, which again is 90 miles
south of Cape Kanin. It is most likely, therefore, that the six
chapels are all south of Cape Konushin, in which case the chapel we
camped near must have been that on the Bugrjanka river. The only
name in the Arctic Pilot at all corresponding with this is the Bugry-
anitza river, spelt Bogranetza on Messrs. Imray’s chart of 1895; but
this river is only thirty miles from Cape Kanin, a great discrepancy
with the log of the Hzpres. If however this was the river, it will ex-
plain the remark in my diary (written when we believed we were at the
Torna) that the coast showed a far greater curve than that represented

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by the chart, for the Bugryanitza is near the centre of the large bay
to the south of Cape Kanin.

The first glance over the country showed it to be so similar in
general appearance to that round the Gobista river in Kolguev that I
could almost imagine we were there again, and all our further investi-
gations confirmed the resemblance. The river is too shallow to admit
even a small ship’s boat like that belonging to the Expres, except at
high tide, and the sea bottom outside shelves so gradually that the
steamer was obliged to anchor three-quarters of a mile off shore in
34 fathoms.

As we rowed in to land, a flock of male and female Common
Hider flew past along the shore; and we saw them over the sea on
several other occasions, but did not meet with them on land. About
a dozen Glaucous Gulls, most of them mature, stood on the sand bar
watching our arrival; they were careful, however, both then and
during the remainder of our stay, to leave before we came within
range. The next bird to claim attention was very different in size, a
Mealy Redpoll anxious about her nest of four eggs in a sallow bush
close to our landing-place. On taking them next day, after a vain
effort to secure a good photo, they proved to be too incubated to blow.
The nest, which was lined with feathers and sallow fluff, had certainly
been used last year; in fact I was inclined to think there were traces
of its being three seasons old, but of this I could not be sure.

The steepness of the bluff made it hard work for the men carrying
up the tents and stores, but when at last all were at the top, and the
former securely fixed, it would have been difficult to find a more
desirable position, We were on the north bank with the tents facing
to the south; the soil was dry and covered with a short firm vegeta-
tion which made a good tent-floor, and did not work into mud in the
first twenty-four hours like that at Lutni. The chapel, too, formed a
useful shelter, if small, from any possible N.w. gales. On the west
stretched the coast in a huge crescent, and of a more pronounced
curve than is shown on the charts; a straight line drawn between the

92 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

two extreme points in view would enclose quite double the area of
sea to that they represent, if this be the Torna. To the south below
us was the broad valley through which the river wandered in curves
and doubles so eccentric that perhaps only the Wye under Haddon
Hall, among our English rivers, can give a faint idea of it. Plate 35
consists of four photos taken a mile higher up the valley; where it
will be seen that the river, after flowing past A, doubles back to B
before it reaches C, the neck of land dividing 4 from C being less
than one hundred yards, while that from A to B is quite half a mile.
With a series of loops like this to contend with, working the lower
ground became a difficult task, as one could never be sure on which
side the river a piece of land lay; and that was a river we never
attempted to wade, for though the water was rarely more than two
feet deep, the mud below it seemed to be fathomless! The fact is,
this part of Kanin Nos is, like the island of Kolguev, one huge
deposit of glacial mud several hundred feet thick; and was probably
formed at the same time. Colonel Feilden’s description of the
geology of Kolguev, “ Beyond Petsora Eastward,” p. 229, would
equally apply to this river valley, with scarcely an alteration, The
lower part of the valley shows unmistakable signs of the compara-
tively recent upheaval of the land some fifty feet, before which the
sea formed an estuary running about two miles inland, and under
whose waters the mud was re-arranged in one broad plain. This
level corresponds closely with a well-marked sea-beach which can be
traced round much of the coast of Arctic Norway, especially in the
Porsanger fjord, where I remember seeing it once in spring brought
into sharp relief by the snow, and looking like a line ruled along the
coast for miles. In Novaya Zemlya also a similar beach can be
traced in places. It would therefore appear the land remained at
that level over the greater part of Northern Europe for a considerable
period, and then rose more rapidly.

Since the land assumed its present level the erosive power of the
river (and therefore its volume of water) seems to have been about

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the same as now, for the numerous old courses it has excavated and
deserted in this flat area are similar in size to its present bed. The
older ones at higher levels are now occupied by bogs, and the more
recent form long pools fringed by rushes, each the home of divers
and ducks.

Above the part of the valley last described is another area in
which a series of large mounds, some isolated, others joined to the
bluffs, indicate a previous period of rest in the process of upheaval.
The denuding power of the river must have been much greater, or
exercised over a far larger period, than during the formation of the
lower part of the valley. There are also fewer traces of deserted
river beds here. After passing beyond both the above, the channel
assumes the ordinary character of a valley cut by a stream through
soft strata.

And what of the inhabitants? All those in the neighbourhood
during our visit were asleep on the other side of the chapel under
two or three feet of earth; we saw none alive, although our men met
with two some miles to the south, when they took the steamer down
the coast in search of a harbour. Two of the graves here were
surrounded by neat wooden railings, while others were marked with
crosses; one of the latter was far beyond the ordinary size, it stood
14 feet out of the ground, and was made from square baulks of
timber measuring II in. by I1 in.; no date was visible, but it
was evidently more than fifty years old. A skull was engraved
on those crosses erected over graves. We counted nine graves here,
but from the crosses it is probable others had become obliterated.
The chapel itself appeared to have been erected in 1881, from a
date carved over the door. It measured 16 feet by 11 feet outside,
and was 6 feet high at the eaves. The interior was divided into
an anteroom 4 feet, and the chapel proper 12 feet; and as will be
seen in Plate 36, none entered either without a profound bow! as
the doors were little more than four feet high.

About the mouth of the river was the largest collection of drift-

94 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

wood I have ever met with. There must have been considerably
over a thousand tons on the beach and up both sides of the river
as far as the tide affected it, consisting of uprooted trees large and
small, felled trees and poles, great square baulks, parts of ships,
Archangel deals, &c. J measured one pine tree 50 feet long from
the roots to where it was broken off, and 3 feet diameter at 4 feet
above the roots; it is shown in Plate 37. Such trees are not often
found now in the Archangel district, within reach of a river and a
saw-mill. <A large timber importer told me the other day that when
the men find a tree which will cut into an 11 inch deal, they sit
down and have a smoke! Much of the wood was too decayed even
for burning, and some of the oldest on the south side lay consider-
ably higher than any storm could carry it now. The Samoyeds
doubtless remove the best of the sawn timber, as the chapel, also
the houses, in Plate 35 were built of g inch and 11 inch deals;
one house, only half up, appeared to be waiting for a shipwreck to
furnish a fresh supply.

After putting the camp a little in order, we walked inland up
the north bank of the river. The greater part of the land both in
the valley and uplands is covered with dense willow-scrub two to
three feet high, through which it is most difficult to force a way.
We soon found however there were well-defined tracks, of sufficient
width for a sledge and three or four reindeer, running in various
directions from the chapel, which had been cut or kept clear for
miles through the scrub. The Samoyeds inhabiting this peninsula
spend the winter months in the lowlands to the south, where they
remain until they are driven north by the mosquitoes; when these
pests arrive at their most active stage, all the inhabitants and their
reindeer congregate on the highest land at Kanin Nos; there the
cold sea winds must often give them relief from their tormentors.
The district about our camp seems to be a halting-place on their
spring and autumn journeys.

Where the land is free from scrub, most of the surface is thickly

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 95

covered with hummocks from about the size and shape of a man’s
grave down to that of an English ant-heap, and carpeted with richly
coloured mosses and lichens.

We were at once impressed with the fact we had come to a land
of birds; they were far more numerous here than they had been on
the Murman coast. Of geese we saw eleven, eight, and several lots
of three and two; but it is quite possible the same birds crossed over
us more than once. What species they were I cannot tell, for I may
as well confess at once we never got within reasonable rifle range, to
say nothing about guns, during our stay. A goose is a difficult bird
to come to close quarters with, even during the darkness of an
English winter; but in the constant broad daylight of an arctic
summer, it 1s an almost impossible task. Once or twice I thought
from viewing them through the glasses they were Bean-Geese, but
this was very far from identification. Without doubt many of them
were breeding in the district, but what could be done with those
miles of scrub, every few yards of which afforded a dry and suitable
spot for a goose’s nest? We searched acres where we had seen geese
alight, but without result; and almost hated the sight or name of the
bird at last!

The general line of the river valley is about N.N.E., forming an
acute angle with the coast, so that at the highest point reached we
were less than three miles from the sea to-day. After skirting the
scrub for some two miles we came to a stretch of open tundra, and
saw a Butfion’s Skua rise on the sky-line; in following this bird up I
came on several Ruffs playing, and dropping on the ground, crawled
behind the hummocks towards them. Suddenly a bird rose and I
fired, too quickly for once, as it was the Buffon’s Skua which fell
after flying forty yards. Its mate at once appeared on the scene, and
flew round us with angry cries, so we walked off eighty yards and sat
down to watch. The bird settled on the eggs a few minutes after we
became quiet. The one shot was the female, and she had not risen
from the eggs as they were some distance to the right of the point

96 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

she came from. A male Willow-Grouse rose here, disturbed by the
shot at the Skua. We next struck across to some large hillocks of
peat which formed a conspicuous landmark; several Redwings were
in the scrub near, but the only nest we could see was an old one.
On a small lake below was a Red-throated Diver’s nest, with the male
bird sitting on two eggs slightly incubated. As we crossed the large
marsh surrounding this pool two or three small duck rose, which
I feel sure were Teal Nettion crecca; we saw others afterwards, but
never succeeded in getting one. A Snipe was drumming over the
marsh. Other birds seen during the walk were Red-throated Pipits
(very common), Shore-Larks (common), Lapland-Buntings, White
Wagtail, Willow-Wrens, Rough-legged Buzzards, Golden Plovers,
Ringed Plover, Oyster-catcher, and Temminck’s Stint. The only
other nest we found was a Shore-Lark’s with four eggs; but Kjeldsen
had been more fortunate. After putting things in order round the
tents, he had searched the bluffs near, with the result that he had
four nests of Red-throated Pipit, one of a Stint, and a Shore-Lark
with young, to show us in situ. I shot the Stint for identification,
and found it was a male Temminck, the third male on the nest
to-day. We began to think the ladies’ duties were very light in this
part of the world. The young Shore-Larks were only a few yards
from the tents, and were a constant source of amusement during our
stay. Their parents appeared to be busy feeding them during about
twenty hours out of the twenty-four, chiefly on mosquitoes I believe ;
so there was little wonder at the rapid progress they made. On the
21st their bodies were covered with pale ochre-yellow down, and the
quill feathers had just begun to show; on the 25th feathers had
developed over both their bodies and wings. The photograph of
them on Plate 32b was taken on the 23rd, and shows the young
feathers covering most of the back of the upper bird. When the old
bird—which I think was the hen—brooded them through the colder
hours of the night, she sat very close and allowed me to photograph
her when five feet off; but, alas, the exposure or something was wrong.

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 97

I picked up a dead bird near the tents of a species I certainly did
not expect to meet with here, viz, a Tree Sparrow Passer montanus.
It had been dead some time, as the flesh was dried up and the
intestines &c. had been eaten by insects. Probably the bird had
been driven out of its course by a gale.

June 22nd.—Two Ravens passed over camp this morning. After
clearing away the eggs and taking some photos we started at 4 p.m.
for a ten hours’ tramp on the opposite (south) side of the river.
Another Temminck’s Stint rose from a nest of four eggs, ten yards
from the river and close to where we had passed several times
yesterday. A little higher up the river than the point shown in
the left of Plate 35, a brook entered the main stream at nearly a
right angle; and had cut a deep ravine for itself through the glacial
mud. large pieces of the banks had given way during the late
thaw and had carried down parts of a well-worn sledge track. After
following this stream for a mile we struck up towards higher land to
the south. Two male Willow-Grouse rose from among the scrub, but
we saw no hens, so they were probably nesting. After passing the
scrub we noted a Buffon’s Skua evidently on the look-out; as we
walked towards it another rose quite half a mile ahead; whereon we
promptly sat down and watched the second bird through our glasses,
the first standing a hundred yards off to watch us. After a short
time No. 2 settled on a ridge, and from its attitude was evidently on
the nest; neither of us could see the bird at all with the naked eye,
but taking its bearings carefully we walked up and soon found a
handsome clutch of two dark green eggs well marked and slightly
incubated.

Another mile brought us to the highest point, 250 feet above
sea, from which we obtained a good view of the country round.
We had evidently reached the watershed between our river and the
next to the south. An undulating tract lay round us covered with
much more stones and sand than the lower parts nearer the river;

but what interested us most was to see two or three lakes below, and
G

98 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

we at once made for them. These were much the largest we saw in
the district, but alas! they had no islands. However, we added five
new species to our list on their shores, viz., Bluethroat, Scaup (1 pair), —
Long-tailed Duck, Dunlin, and Red-necked Phalarope. A small flock
of the last did not appear to have finished pairing yet. On a large
mound near the principal lake were a number of sledges, some of
them laden with barrels of flour, others with skins, cooking utensils,
&e. These sledges had apparently been brought from the south
before the snow melted, when transportation is so much easier, and
left in readiness for the summer migration. We inscribed our names
with date of visit on some of the casks, and wondered what the
Samoyeds would make of these strange marks. The deep green and
luxuriant growth of the grass on the mound showed that the latter
had long been used as a camping-ground. There were a number of
fox-traps in the neighbourhood, similar to that shown in Plate 45,
and baited with trouts’ heads. Hanging from some cross poles was a
quantity of reindeer meat which looked as if it had been there since
last autumn; its condition did not tempt us to steal any! Judging
from the height of the fox-traps and that at which the meat was
hung, we came to the conclusion that the depth of the snowfall on
level ground in an ordinary winter is from two to three feet here.

Having satisfied our curiosity respecting the belongings of the
Samoyeds we took a straight line for camp, lying three miles from
the lake in a north-west direction. The day had been fine, but a
Scotch mist combined with a N.w. wind made it bitterly cold at night,
and when we reached camp the water bucket was coated with ice.

We found a number of nests of the Red-throated Pipit and Lap-
land-Bunting during our walk. The former is quite the bird of the
district, and we very soon selected only those clutches which showed
well-marked variations. Whenever the eggs closely resembled those
of the Meadow-Pipit we either shot the bird or saw its red breast;
but all were the Red-throated species; and I may say here that we
never identified a Meadow-Pipit in the country. Some of the eggs

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 99

very closely resembled those of the Lapland-Bunting, so much so as
to require absolute identification; but all nests of the Pipits had no
feathers as lining, while all those of the Buntings had.

June 23rd was one of the most perfect days one could hope to
enjoy north of the Arctic Circle; no wind, not a cloud in the sky, «and
mosquitoes unobtrusive. After dinner I went up the river to inspect
the only complete house we saw in the district, which was placed on
a narrow neck of land between two curves of the river, as seen in
Plate 35. A nearer view is shown in Plate 39. On going up to the
house I found none of the doors were locked, and ventured to lift the
latch and walk in. The lower part on the right was a store and had
no communication with the other; in neither building was there any
sign of fireplaces, a sure indication that the place is used only during the
summer months. A curious piece of construction will be seen on the
left, the upper part projecting four or five feet beyond the lower; I
could find no explanation of this except that possibly another ship-
wreck had provided them with a supply of long planks after the lower
part had been built. The upper part was made of best 3 by I1 in.
Archangel deals, a quality never originally intended for Samoyed houses.
The farther side of the roof of the low building also projected five feet
beyond the wall and formed a rough verandah. A door on the same
side of the higher part gave entrance into a room five feet in height, one
side of which was occupied by sleeping-bunks, while most of the remain-
ing space was filled with flour barrels, &. A short flight of well-made
wooden steps (not flotsam) led to an upper room, evidently that of
the proprietor; this contained a wonderful collection of boxes, skins,
flour in bags, &c. On the floor under the window was a nearly new
ship’s grating made of teak; and on the wall hung a handsomely
carved rudder-head, the history of which might have been interesting.
There are fish in the river as I noticed a circular funnel net of a
similar shape to our eel traps; and also a number of circular weights
for fishing nets, made of baked clay. The nests found to-day were a
Dunlin’s with four eggs, Oyster-catcher’s (2), Ringed Plover’s (4), and

100 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

a number of Red-throated Pipits’. The second and third were on the
sand-bar near the driftwood.

June 24th.-Although we were up at 10 am., packing eggs,
photographs, and camp duties kept us busy till dinner, after which
we started up the south side of the river. A Temminck’s Stint came
close to Hetley five or six times while he was blowing its eggs; a very
unusual circumstance, as this species is much wilder at the nest than
the Little Stint. It was here I photographed the fox-trap shown in
Plate 40. The fox comes prowling round the deserted Samoyed en-
campment during the winter in search of offal; smells “fish,” and
enters the tunnel where he finds a delightful trout’s head attached to
a figure of four; and when he appropriates the fish the upper plank
falls. I was surprised that the weight of the plank was sufficient to
kill him, but suppose this must be so because none of the planks were
weighted. While crossing a stretch of liquid mud, mixed with frag-
ments of the bluff above, a White Wagtail fluttered out from under a
lump of the slding bank, just in front of Hetley who was last in the
line; and its large nest of moss, twigs, and grass, lined with reindeer
hair and feathers, contained five fresh eggs. The bird was probably
young and inexperienced, or such a site would never have been chosen ;
for it seemed almost certain that the nest would be buried under the
moving mud before the young ones could leave it. Then we came
upon two Redwings’ nests in the sallow bushes, each with six young ;
the second contained also an infertile egg. Six appears to be the usual
full clutch for both this species and Fieldfares; and though I have
occasionally found seven eggs I have never noted seven young in a
nest.

We had now penetrated to a part of the valley beyond that occu-
pied by the drift deposits previously described; and while crossing a
damp area covered with hummocks of all sizes, Hetley called me to
see four eggs of a light green colour heavily blotched with dark
brown, eggs that I had never seen in situ before. The nest was a
slight one of grass, and placed on a hummock two feet high, but so

*I10-9-62

“CVeaiivalc

‘TO ADV,

ADVYOHONV SAOEV SAANIG BSHL ‘ANVISI

NIGH

-

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND IOI

narrow the nest occupied all the top of it. After watching an hour,
Hetley shot the bird, a male Wood-Sandpiper. I tried to photograph
the nest, but the hour was 11 p.m., and a slight drizzle falling, so the
result was not a success.

On our return we kept on the higher ground where a pair of
Buffon’s Skuas detained us some time, but I came to the conclusion
that they were birds we had already robbed, and which had moved to
fresh ground in consequence. Shortly after leaving them two Rough-
legged Buzzards rose over us, giving their peculiar cat-like call; a sure
sign there was a nest near at hand. I spent some time in carefully
searching the edge of the bluffs, but without result, as these birds—un-
like the White Wagtail—had learnt wisdom by experience ; Kjeldsen
had already found two old nests of theirs on the opposite side of the
river, buried under masses of the fallen bluff. Hope of success had
almost gone, when a heap of sticks, quite fifty yards from the ravine
caught my eye; and there was the nest (depicted in Plate 41) con-
taining two eggs which would have been hatched within forty-eight
hours. This was the first nest of the species I had found on practically
level ground. It is interesting to notice how some birds of prey not
only adapt their ideas of a suitable building-site to the country, but
also the number of their young to the probable supply of food. We
noticed very few signs of small mammals in this district, hence the
Buzzards would have to rely chiefly on small birds. The largest
clutch of this species I find recorded in Ootheca Wolleyana is five, but
Mr. Chaworth Musters tells me that he has taken six in Norway in
a year when lemmings were plentiful.’

June 25th.—A yellow Wagtail we had seen yesterday near the
Samoyed’s house promptly evaded us by crossing the river, so to-day
we divided into two parties, one taking the north side and the other
the south. We again failed to secure the bird, but from what I saw
of it through my glasses I believed it to be a male Motacilla viridis.
While watching the Wagtail a Willow-Wren flew up from a little

1 See also p. 123.

102 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

heap of moss at my feet; the nest was beautifully made and lined
with such a mass of white feathers that one wondered how the birds
had managed to collect so many. No eggs had yet been laid. Walk-
ing up to the end of this large peninsula I flushed a Pintail Duck
from her nest and shot her, when she fell into the river and was
washed ashore 150 yards down on the opposite side, where Kjeldsen
picked her up. The nest, which was fifteen yards from the river, on
an open piece of level ground covered with herbage some six inches
high, was well lined with down, and contained nine eggs partly incu-
bated. I have usually found this species nesting under the shelter of
a bush, and there were scores of acres of dry scrub close to. As I
was going back to camp with these and other eggs, I saw an amusing
chase of a Raven by two Geese; the former was flying at a speed I
never saw a Raven make before, and giving quick short croaks, evi-
dently very sorry for himself! Unfortunately the Geese caught sight
of me just as they were nearly up to him, and turned off; I ex-
pect he had been more successful in finding a goose’s nest than
we had.

In the next large bend of the river a pair of Wild Ducks Anas
boscas rose from a pool. And then the treat of the night occurred. A
Red-throated Diver came sweeping past forty yards off, exchanging
loud notes of greeting with another bird, and disappeared over the
edge of a bank without having appeared to notice my presence. So I
followed it to see the cause of its pre-occupation. Just under the
bank was a long narrow pool some forty yards long by thirty feet at the
wider end where I stood, and close to me was the Diver. The change
in its note when it caught sight of me was amusing, and the angry
alarmed look in the eyes was as plain as possible. It made an effort
to rise but there was not a sufficient stretch of water beyond it.
After watching it some time I moved a little nearer, and there was the
other bird crouching on the nest, its head laid down the centre of its
back so as to be as little conspicuous as possible. Tableau! One Diver
thirty feet off, and one forty feet, while a little Phalarope swam about

PLATE 44.

££"
*
a

ohn
»
Th ws .
' S .
se (WAS

*

» ;
a .
a gl
a. .

sa *

—

RED-THROATED DIVER’S NEST

PAGE 109.

, 0s sor oe

rt ud
ta

ot

>
’

.

7
i.

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 103

between us catching flies and seeming to wonder why they had dis-
turbed it with all this noise. Alas! the camera wasincamp. So we all
remained watching each other about ten minutes, when I waded round
to the nest; the first bird leaving as soon as the way was open for it
to rise down the length of the pool, and the second when I got up to
the nest. I left the eggs, for I thought the birds deserved them after
the fright they had gone through, and besides the eggs had nothing
special in their markings! Easy virtue. I have only once before seen a
Diver leave the nest, for it is among the most wary of birds; but Mr.
Musters tells me that on one occasion he came upon a Diver which
was only eight or ten feet off, and remained on the nest for some time
while he and his daughter watched it.

Hetley and Kjeldsen had found a Common Snipe’s Gallinago
celestis nest with four eggs, a Ringed Plover’s with four, and a Shore-
Lark’s with four, all much incubated. Both to-day and previously we
have seen a number of dead Kittiwakes lying about, especially near
the mouth of the river. All were in full summer plumage and ap-
peared to have recently died. As the Hxpres was now in the offing,
and we had tramped over most of the country round, I signalled at
2.30 a.m. for the men to come for us; and after two or three hours’
hard work all was safely aboard again, the only thing forgotten as far
as I know being that unfortunate Buffon’s Skua, shot by mistake on
the 21st, which we left hanging up in the ante-chapel where it
had been placed to dry; I should like to have heard the remarks of
the Samoyeds when they found the skin contained only cotton wool.
We left them also a considerable collection of empty tins, &c., which
they would probably consider of greater value.

We had spent a most enjoyable time on this Kanin peninsula,
favoured by good weather; a little cold at times, but that was a
blessing in disguise, as directly the sun obtained power, so did the
mosquitoes. The change in the vegetation during the four days had
been marvellous; when we landed there was a universal tone of
brown over the country, now replaced by one of green. Flowers were

104 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

scarcely out yet; but we saw many lovely patches of a deep blue
gentian, and trollius and marsh marigolds were opening rapidly in all
the more sheltered portions. A list of the birds seen here will be
found in Appendix I.

June 26th.—We steamed down the coast in search of the Kiya
river, and after traversing thirteen or fourteen miles, arrived at what
Hansen declared was that stream, but I feel sure it was really the
Shoina; and the latter agrees far better with Rae’s description of his
journey. However it signified very little what the river was, for we
were unable to land. When two and a half miles from shore the
lead showed only three and a half fathoms; the wind was now from
the west, and a slight swell was setting in to the sand beach; so that
Hansen seemed fairly justified in declining to proceed farther in, and
the distance was too great to take a boat in that state of weather.
As far as I have been able to learn, Rae’s method of chartering a
Russian sailing-boat is the only practical one for visiting the greater
part of this coast; the sand-banks extend so far from shore, and
there are no charts of sufficient accuracy to allow a captain to take
his steamer near them with reasonable safety. Also a sailing boat can
be taken into many of the creeks and drawn up on to the beach during
a storm, whereas no harbour exists on the whole coast for a ship.

There appearing to be no possibility of effecting a landing to the
south of the Shoina river, I decided to make an effort to reach Korga
island before returning to the Murman coast. This island, situated
off the mouth of the Kambalnitza river and some fifty miles to the
east of Kanin Nos, forms the north-east corner of the peninsula of
Kanin; and is shown on our charts only as a shoal, although the
Norwegian charts give it as land. In the Arctic Pilot it is stated to
be three and a half miles long by one mile wide, and to be covered
with grass and boulders. It is divided from the mainland by three
miles of water varying in depth from two to eleven feet, which, like
ali the rest of this coast, affords no harbour for even small vessels.

Soon after turning north fog came on, causing much delay, so

AG 2 OVA |

‘60OI HOV

-LSAIN “S:dSa OOS Lands

3

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 105

that it was 4 p.m. on the 27th when we sighted Korga. It was then
fairly clear over the land, but foggy round all the rest of the horizon,
with stiff w.n.w. breeze. The captain went in at quarter speed from
eleven fathoms to four, then he dropped the anchor two miles from
shore, and told me he did not consider it safe for a boat to leave, as
we should probably be unable to get back to the ship! However, we
had not come all that way only to look at an island from a distance
of a couple of miles; and as two of the men volunteered to row us,
we started at once before the weather got worse. On nearing the
shore it became clear that owing to the heavy surf there was serious
risk of the boat being stove in; so choosing the quietest place where
a small shoal broke the swell a little, Hetley and I dropped overboard
and got safely to land in about the centre of the coast line. A
strange and curious spot it was: a long low stretch of land scarcely
rising above high-tide mark, and in fact showing signs of being
occasionally covered with water over most of its area; while on this
flat surface were scattered numbers of sand-dunes, some of those near
us rising to thirty and thirty-five feet, and gradually diminishing in
height towards each end of the island. Most of these dunes appeared
to have been built up by the wind round clumps of a coarse glaucous-
coloured grass very similar to that common round the English coast
in sandy districts. And the process was still going on rapidly in
places, for some nests made this year were already partly buried.
Some of the dunes were of old formation and were covered with a
finer herbage, amongst which beautiful large forget-me-nots and a
large mauve-coloured flower I knew well by sight (but alas not by
name) grew freely, and were doubly welcome amid their desolate
surroundings.

Two things were clear directly we landed; the first, that we must
not linger, for the men evidently had difficulty in holding the boat
off the shore, and the wind was rising; and secondly, that our trouble
in reaching the island had not been wasted, as we were in the midst
of the largest colony of Glaucous Gulls I had yet seen in the north,

106 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

even exceeding in numbers the assemblage at Nameless Bay, Novaya
Zemlya, visited in 1897. On almost every dune there sat one of
these Gulls on its nest, while all the larger dunes were occupied by
three or four birds; and although this was June 27th, all the eggs
were fresh or only slightly incubated, and no young were seen.
Separating, we proceeded to collect and mark the clutches as rapidly
as possible. The few receptacles we had brought were full at once,
for gulls’ eggs are bulky; then we filled our handkerchiefs, then our
hats, in spite of the cold. But now the wind was beginning to lift
the sand, and the boat was getting into more serious trouble; so after
one short half hour and going over only a few hundred yards, we
were obliged to return. The most difficult part of our task yet
remained, viz., to get safely back on board the boat. Wading in
together, I steadied the boat, while Hetley got in with the guns—
poor guns! a prolonged visit to the gunsmith resulted from that
afternoon—then I went back for the eggs, and handed them on board.
In spite of all the pitching and rolling, only two were cracked and
one broken out of forty-one; a fact which says much for the strength
of a Glaucous Gull’s egg. These eggs varied but slightly in colour
and markings ; the ground colour being either a light olive brown or
bluish-green, with large blotches of dark maroon brown irregularly
dispersed over the surface. One clutch, remarkable chiefly for their |
shape, are depicted full size in Plate 42. The only other birds seen
during our hurried visit were a Ringed Plover (which seemed to have
a nest near), three male King-Hiders Somateria spectabilis, a Pomator-
hine Skua, and a gull with black mantle, but of what species we could
not determine. The three last species were all on the wing, and
probably only flying over. As often happens in such cases, the wind .
had moderated considerably by the time we reached the ship; still —
the weather looked so threatening all round, and the’ captain was so
anxious to get his vessel out of these unknown waters, I reluctantly
gave orders to start at once for Kildin island, which we reached at
7 a.m. on the 2oth, after a rough passage.

2

PLATE 46B.

PLATE 46A.

.30 A.M.

II

10 a.m,

&

TURNSTONE AND YOUNG.

TURNSTONE’S NEST.

110.

PAGI

Ilo,

PAGE

After breakfast I called on the Norwegian mentioned on our

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 107

previous visit, and showed him coloured drawings of the birds which
might be found here. He said he had seen a Smew here this year
for the first time; he did not know the Red-breasted Goose or the
Yellow-headed Wagtail (MM. citreola), nor was he clear upon the differ-
ences between the various grey geese. He had not found the Glaucous
Gull breeding on this coast. He knew little about the smaller birds ;
I have never met a native in these northern latitudes who did, the
only birds which interest them are those available for food. As a
proof that natives must not always be relied on, my host produced
three duck’s eggs which he was quite certain were those of the Velvet

Scoter; he said he had taken them yesterday and shot the old bird
near, but I was equally certain they were Merganser’s, for they did not
agree in size or colour with those of the Velvet Scoter. This man, with
his eight sons and four daughters, was an example—rather rare in the
twentieth century—of “blessed is the man who hath his quiver full of
them.” Coming to this island some twenty years ago, he has, with
the help of his children, gradually built up a comfortable home, well
supplied with all the necessaries of life. But I am omitting the chief
factor of his success, a very stout and most capable wife, who took a
large share in the conversation. I asked her what they did when
they wanted a doctor, to which she replied “they never had wanted
one during the last twenty years. One of the girls had been a
little sick lately, but was better now.” Think of that, ye victims of
a crowded civilisation! All the family whom I saw fully bore out the
mother’s statement.

Three or four Pomatorhine Skuas were feeding on the offal of the
seals’ carcasses near the house, and when I returned in the afternoon
two of them had fallen victims to a pea-rifle owned by one of the
sons. One bird was a fine young specimen of the melanic type; and
as it was the first I had seen of this species, I bought it for skinning.
This Skua in the adult stage is so common during the whole summer
on the Murman coast that I am convinced some fortunate ornithologist

108 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

will shortly discover its nest there, and when too old to revisit the
district | may give my reasons for saying so more fully !

During the afternoon and evening we made two long excursions
over the island, but only found a Red-throated Pipit’s nest. The
island had now assumed its summer garb, and presented a very
different appearance to that on May 29th. The following were the
birds seen: Redwing, Wheatear, Willow-Wren, White Wagtail,
Meadow-Pipit, Red-throated Pipit, Mealy Redpoll, Shore-Lark, Lap-
land-Bunting, Snow-Bunting, Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Dotterel,
Oyster-catcher, Temminck’s Stint, Dunlin, Long-tailed Duck, Herring-
Gull, a black-mantled Gull, unidentified, and Pomatorhine Skua.

June 30th.—Leaving Kildin island early in the morning we
steamed north, and rounding the Ribatchi peninsula reached Hené
island at 4 p.m., where we remained during the two following days.
Our first attentions were paid to the Velvet Scoters, as I was anxious
to secure clutches for friends; and after considerable search two nests
(six and seven eggs) were found in deep cracks in the peat near the
spot where we first took eggs of this species in 1899. During our
visit four nests of the Red-breasted Merganser (8, 8, 9, 6) were
identified, all the eggs being partly incubated. Two nests were
under stones and two in holes in the grass hummocks. Many of the
Eiders had their young on the water, although some were still laying
—yprobably birds whose first eggs had been taken. Almost all the
Dunlins and Phalaropes had hatched out, and the few eggs found were
much incubated. Turnstones also had young, and gave us endless
trouble, for they are tiresome enough to watch on to their eggs, and ten
times worse when there are young. Four Reeve's eggs were rather a
prize, as we had not succeeded in finding them here before, although
we had seen the birds in 1899. The Terns and Lesser Black-backed
Gulls had not yet hatched. On the whole I came to the conclusion
that most of the birds were a week to ten days earlier in nesting than
in 1899. A species not previously seen here was the Bar-tailed
Godwit, six or seven examples of which were feeding on the shore.

PLATE 47.

ad,

5

9g.

10S

cinalis).

SCURVY GRASS (Cochleavia off

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 109

Two of these had rufous-coloured breasts, and the remainder buff; if
they were a family party of the year the eggs must have been laid
when most of the country was under snow.

Kjeldsen watched an interesting contest from the ship this evening ;
a Great Black-backed Gull secured a young Oyster-catcher on the beach
and made off with it, whereupon he was promptly attacked by the two
parents, who each seized a wing and twice brought him down to the
water; but he finally shook them off and escaped with his prey.
Another bird in trouble was a Fulmar, which swam up to the ship
with a yard of fishing line hanging from its neck. At the end of the
line was a cod-hook, which very soon caught on the rope holding our
boat astern, and thus enabled us to haul the bird on board. The end
of the line passed through the skin of the neck on the side and about
half-way down, but we could not see what there was in the throat to
hold it ; and as the skin round the string was neither inflamed nor raw
he had probably carried his disagreeable appendage some time. We
cut the string off as close as we could and then put him back in the
sea, when he proceeded to have a bath, constantly preening the place
where the string had been removed. He remained about the ship
half the day, eating any scraps thrown to him, except cabin-biscuit,
which was doubtless too rough for his sore throat.

The Red-throated Diver's nest (Plate 44) was photographed on
Heno during this visit. It was about twelve inches above the water,
and a well-marked groove showed where the bird slid up and down.
No divers had laid on the margin of the large lake, which had been
fouled from end to end by the ducks; the constant disturbance the
latter caused had probably more to do with this than the dirt. The
ducks had been feeding chiefly on a small, dark, blue-shelled bivalve,
which must be very common here as stretches of the beach are com-
posed of these shells.

We spent the morning of July 3rd on Little Hend. When walking
up the low spit of ground to the south-east, I flushed a Velvet Scoter
off its nest with seven eggs, shown in Plate 45. This was the first

IIO BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

found on the surface, and was placed in a small patch of dwarf sallow
ten inches high, the same patch I believe from which I took a Turn-
stone's nest in 1899. While I was busy photographing, Kjeldsen
discovered a Turnstone’s nest (four eggs), a Phalarope’s (four), and
three young Turnstone, all in a small area; so that his luck was in the
ascendant to-day. The first nest, and another Turnstone’s towards the
other end of the spit (all eight eggs nearly hatching), were placed on
the open ground with no protection beyond a few blades of grass;
whereas all the nests of this species found here in 1899 were under
stones or in dwarf sallow. The three young Turnstones were so active
that Kjeldsen tied them up in a red and white handkerchief, and
reported that the old bird shortly came and settled on the handker-
chief to brood them, when he was only a few yards off. If the bird
could face that handkerchief I felt certain he would face the camera,
so I fixed it up, and two exposures were obtained in twenty minutes,
the better of which is given in Plate 46b. Feeling doubtful however
as to their correctness, I waited more than an hour in vain to take
a third photo; but the birds seemed to get more shy as time went on,
and many were the consultations they held and the mancuvres they
tried. It was always however the bird I believed to be the male
which came near, the female never advanced to within fifteen yards of
the young.

We afterwards went up to the higher part of Little Heno but saw
nothing of interest, nor did we meet with any Little Stints here this
year, as I had hoped to do after our experience in 1899. I suspect
the nesting of this species to the west of the White Sea depends
largely on the nature of the season in those more eastern parts of
Russia which it usually frequents.

And here ended our expedition as far as ornithology was con-
cerned, an expedition giving no striking results and no new facts
beyond the one that the birds on the east side of the White Sea, at
the spot we visited, correspond very closely with those on its western
side. Still I feel sure from information received in Norway that the

3-7-01.

9.30 Q.110,

32.

(Rubus chamemorus)

MULTEB/AER

HENO.

ty

Bonen fi:

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND Ge

low marshy district from the Shoina river to the Chizha river will
prove an interesting “bird-land” to any one able to penetrate into it
and brave its mosquitoes. The Samoyeds leave all that part of the
country during the summer months and retire to the north coast of
the peninsula to avoid the mosquitoes; so that the birds are undis-
turbed throughout most of the breeding season.

Leaving Heno at 2 p.m. we made a quick passage to Vardo; and
after securing our letters and a supply of coal, went on the same
evening to Troms0, where we arrived at 6 p.m. on the 5th. Here we
met most of the members of the Baldwin-Ziegler Expedition (except
Mr. Baldwin himself, who reached Tromso a few hours after we left),
and went over the two ships chartered for the voyage, the America
and the Frithof. The latter was under the command of my former
captain, Kjeldsen, whose presence was a guarantee that her part as a
relief ship would be carried out with thoroughness and ability.

Nothing worthy of comment occurred during the voyage down
the coast from Tromso6 to Bergen; and we reached England July 15th
after a splendid passage across the North Sea.

CHAPTER III

NS

UR expeditions of 1899 and 1901 were confined to the sea
C) coast of Russian Lapland and the districts within a day’s march
from our vessel, so that we had little opportunity of learning
what species of birds were to be found in the interior. The only authori-
tative information in English on this subject is that contained in
Mr. H. F. Witherby’s paper in the Jiis July 1g00, to which I shall
often have to refer in the following pages. As Mr. Witherby’s visit
was made in 1899, he was heavily handicapped by the abnormally bad
season from which we also suffered so much, and he only reached his
“bird-ground ” on July 4th, too late for most things except mosquitoes.
Still Mr. Witherby recorded many interesting birds, and from his
account, it appeared that the country was well worth another visit in
an ordinary season. I decided therefore to spend the early summer
of this year in the same district, with Pulozero for headquarters,
making ample provision against the chief difficulty from which both
he and Rae suffered, namely shortness of food. My travelling com-
panion was Mr. Chaworth Musters of Annesley, who contributed the
larger share to what little success we had. Although the study of
ornithology was the professed object of our journey, I must confess
that our most cherished hope, when we left England, was to obtain
eggs of the Spotted Redshank and Bar-tailed Godwit—taken ipsa manu ;
but, alas, empty spaces in our cabinets still await both species.
The present Governor of Archangel, Admiral Rimsky-Korsakoff
kindly afforded us every facility for travelling in the country, and

II2

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 113

indeed I doubt whether we should have succeeded in reaching our
destination without his assistance, for the Russian peasant—in the
Kola district at least—is a curious individual to bargain with, and
apt to put an extraordinary value on his services.

Leaving Hull on April 30th in the s.s. Tasso we crossed the North
Sea in (practically) a calm, and although a cold east wind blew there
was no sea; this good fortune followed us throughout the voyage to
Kola, and again from Kola to Hull. Of course, during a large part of
the distance, we were steaming between the islands of the Norwegian
coast ; still there are many places on this route where Father Neptune
is not always found in such a placid mood, and to traverse the whole
distance without the faintest excuse for sea-sickness is probably 2
record voyage. Our captain told us that the ships of his line had
been crowded with emigrants this spring, in consequence of the bad
harvests in Norway of the last two years. The Montebello took over 2
thousand on her last voyage from Christiania.

At Christiansund we were joined by the third member of our
party—Miss Juno, a black-and-tan Gordon setter belonging to
Musters. She was a valuable addition, as she found a number of
nests by putting up the sitting bird, and proved an irresistible
attraction to geese and others. During the breeding season many
birds will stop to mob a dog, when they would fly away without
giving a man the chance of a shot if he appeared alone. Juno’s one
weak point was a fixed idea that our beds were primarily intended for
her comfort; this was bearable in cold weather, but became rather
trying as the summer advanced.

We went over the S.Y. America at Throndhjem where she was in
dry dock, preparing for her next attempt to reach the North Pole:
and spent a pleasant evening with her new commander Captain
Coffin. He was evidently a man of considerable arctic experience,
and had been engaged in whaling for more than thirty years. When,
in 1878, Nordenskidld just failed to complete his voyage along the

Siberian coast during the season and was beset in Kolyutschin bay,
H

114 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

Captain Coffin was one of the Americans who saw the smoke of the
Vega and wondered what vessel it could be.

Vardo was reached on May oth, two hours after the Russian mail-
boat had left for Kola, and we were thus stranded in this delightful
spot for a week. As neither of us spoke Russian, a young man was
engaged here through our English Consul to act as interpreter and
servant, but he turned out a complete failure in everything except
his ability to speak Russian. We spent the greater part of the first
days in trying to charter a small steamer or sailing boat in which to
complete our voyage; but no owner would even name a price, for the
fishing was good, and the harvest of the sea could not be neglected.
Fish were there in enormous quantities, as every boat came in laden
to the gunwale, but the cod looked poor and thin, scarcely worth the
catching. Something had gone wrong in the Arctic Ocean this year,
and what that something was it would be very interesting to know.
At the Lofoden fishing earlier in the season, the cod were in the same
poor starved state, and their livers were so destitute of oil that they
sank if thrown into the sea. Seals had been driven south on to the
Norwegian coast in greater numbers than had ever been known before.
The fishermen we talked to explained the poor condition of the cod
by the fact that the seals prevented the fish coming up on to their
usual feeding-ground. The men stated that the seals could not dive
below 200 fathoms, therefore the fish were obliged to keep below that
depth where food was scarce; and the long lines, carrying many
hundreds of hooks, were set this year in 200 fathoms water, or
deeper. Another explanation given us was that an unusual cold
current of water had been coming from the north this spring and
the cod would not come up into it, but lay in masses on the edge of
the deep water. This may be “ fisherman’s natural history,” all I can
vouch for is, that the cod were the poorest I ever saw, and their livers
contained so little oil its cost had risen in May to from 420 to 450
kroners per barrel, the usual price being about 50 kroners. The seals
were far commoner than I had known them here before; and white

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND IIs

whales (Delphinapterus leucas, Pallas) were as numerous as seals are in
an ordinary year. I had only seen the latter animals near Novaya
Zemlya previously, and the natives said they had always been rare
on this coast. Yet in spite of their poor condition, the cod-fish
fetched a good price, and all the men were earning so much money
they could not be induced to accept other work.

Most of the country round Vard6 was still covered by deep snow,
and snowstorms with frost during some twenty out of the twenty-
four hours of the first days of our visit showed that we had not yet
parted with winter. Ravens were common, for we counted eleven
together ; one pair had eggs among the rocks behind the town, and
another nest of this species on an island near contained young; the
former nest being one of the very few I have seen which could be
easily reached without a rope. Other kinds of birds were only com-
mencing to arrange for their summer duties. Snow-Buntings were in
flocks on our arrival, but most of them separated into pairs during
the week; the males began to sing, and several birds were carrying
building material about before we left. We watched two Sky-Larks
Alauda arvensis for some time on the 11th, a bird I do not remember
to have seen here before. A pair of Peregrines Falco peregrinus
passed close on the roth, probably on migration, as they do not
breed in the neighbourhood. We also noted a Starling on the 11th,
the first we had seen here; this species has therefore extended its
range to the extreme north-east of Norway. A number of male
King-Eiders were swimming near the shore, but only a few of them
were in adult plumage; and a large flock of Long-tailed Ducks
remained for some days about the island.

On May 16th we at last escaped from all the smells and other
disagreeables of Vardé in the Russian mail steamer, a good boat
built at Newcastle in 1895; and, after a quiet passage across the
Varangerfjord, we anchored the same evening in Pechenga gulf. Ice
still covered all the upper part of the fjord as in 1899, and our
captain pushed the ship into it 40 or 50 yards, but could not pene-

116 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

trate to the usual anchorage off the Triphona river. We were
joined here by another and smaller steamer which took off passengers
and cargo for Zip-Navolok. Ivan, our guide up the Pechenga country
in 1899, came on board with some of his family. He looked as dirty
as ever—dirtier was scarcely possible—and much older, the result
of illness he said.

When we went to our cabin we found it rather like Ivan as far
as cleanliness was concerned ; in fact it seemed doubtful whether the
place had been thoroughly washed since it left Newcastle. The bed-
linen was of more recent date, still I turned my pillow over several
times before finally deciding which part showed the lighter shade of
brown—one could scarcely call it white. However, the colour was
the only inconvenience, and we slept undisturbed by insects.

As we went on deck the next morning, our steamer was entering
the Kola fjord, and shortly after dropped anchor in Ekaterina har-
bour—now called Alexandrowsk.

Breakfast was not ready, so we landed without it, and went to
call on the chief of the police, who received us most kindly, giving us
cigars, tea, and preserved pine-apple, rather a trying compound for
an empty stomach! He had been advised of our coming by the
Governor, and presented us with a “red pass,’ which afforded the
same facilities for travelling through the country as those given to
Government officials. Without that red pass we should never have
been able to penetrate beyond Kola; even in these remote districts
it is absolutely necessary to have both permission to travel and
assistance from the authorities in obtaining men. LEkaterina is quite
a new town and port which owes its existence chiefly to the energy of
Governor Engelhardt, who has fully explained the advantages of its
position in his book (pp. 143-147) already referred to. This port was
only officially opened in 1899, so it has not yet had time to develop,
and contains little beyond the various Government buildings, a church
—still rather painfully “bright” to English eyes in its varied colours
of blue, green, yellow, &«—with a few warehouses and other private

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND a7

buildings. Ekaterina was then constituted the seat of government
for the whole of the Murman coast in place of Kola; but the latter
still remains practically the commercial capital, and will probably
long continue so, being centrally situated in relation to the winter
settlements of the inhabitants in this district. At present Kola
is also the centre of a valuable summer fishing for salmon in the
Tuloma and Kola rivers; but as the Norwegian custom of fixing
kilenoter or bag-nets is being introduced into this and other fjords on
the Russian coast, the river-fishing will suffer, as in Norway.

Leaving Ekaterina at two o’clock, we steamed up the Kola fjord,
30 miles in length, and anchored two miles below the town opposite
to a large sawmill; the water is too shallow to admit large steamers
above that point, although small ones penetrate some miles higher up
the Tuloma river. The sawmill had been erected a few years ago in
the hope that a good supply of timber would be obtained for it from
the Tuloma and Kola valleys; and, as we afterwards saw, was well
equipped with modern machinery, and arranged to handle the timber
as economically as possible during its conversion from trees into deals
and boards. But we learnt from the present manager, who was on
board, that it had not proved a commercial success; and a Russian
bank had been obliged to take it over in payment of a large over-
draft. The bank was now anxious to sell, and was prepared to accept
#2500, a sum certainly much below the original cost. The chief
reason for this failure was that good trees, large enough to cut, were
too few and too widely scattered. The trees are cut during the
winter months and dragged over the snow by ponies to the nearest
river or lake in connection with the mill, where they remain until the
spring thaw takes them down. As the cutting and transport to the
mill form a large part of the cost of the timber, it will be readily seen
that unfavourable conditions in this department prevent a mill from
competing successfully in foreign markets.

On our arrival we were met by Mr. Skjerseth, a young Norwegian
merchant, with two boats to convey us and our numerous belongings

118 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

up to the town, and during the next seven weeks we received
unceasing kindness and assistance from him, for which I take this
opportunity of expressing our thanks. I would strongly advise any
Englishmen proposing to visit Kola to place themselves in his care,
and get him to arrange for their lodgings &c. Mr. Skjeerseth’s
father came to Kola some forty years ago, and commenced business,
in which he evidently prospered; the son has now the largest store
in the place and supplies all the possible wants of the inhabitants.
On reaching Kola, Mr. Skjerseth—pronounced Shearset—took us
first to see the rooms he had engaged at the eastern extremity of
the town, and close to the Kola river. Then he carried us off to his
own house—or rather a hired one, for his is being rebuilt this year—
for supper; and a very good supper he gave us, with Scotch whisky
of the quality Scotchmen take out “for fishing,’ not that exported
for commercial purposes. Our host spoke English well, but finding
Musters spoke Norwegian even better, he often lapsed into it.

I must say a word here about our rooms which compared
favourably with our last cabin on board ship, for they were absolutely
clean in every corner. The day-room measured 20 feet by 20 feet,
and the bedroom 20 feet by 15 feet; a large archway connecting
the two rooms. Mr. Skjcrseth had sent two iron bedsteads with
comfortable spring mattresses for our use; and our host's appearance
every morning with tea when he called us, savoured rather of
England than the wilds of Russia. The man seemed to be well-
to-do, and owned several cows; he was employed in some way in
looking after the interests of the Lapps, but we never could get any
clear understanding about his duties. His wife was a clean pleasant-
looking woman, but very delicate—too many children. Cooking here
was the chief difficulty; the greater part had to be done on the
spirit lamp. :

It is not generally known, I believe, that most of this country
belongs to the Lapps, and not to the Russians. The latter own Kola
and a small stretch of flat land behind it; but beyond that, rivers,

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hills, and woods are the property of the Lapps, and are managed on
a species of communism. For instance, when a Scottish gentleman

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 119

wished to rent the salmon-fishing in the Tuloma river, the lease was
arranged with the general council of the Lapps, and the rent paid
into their treasury; but I could not learn to whom and on what
basis these common funds were distributed. It is very difficult to
obtain accurate information on these points without a knowledge of
the language.

The river Kola flows from south to north, while the Tuloma
comes from the south-west; the land between them ending in a
plain half a mile wide, showing clear traces of formation under the
waters of the fjord before the last elevation of the district. There
are several well-marked terraces, denoting the different epochs in
this process, and these are continued on the east side of the river.
One or both of the valleys, now occupied by the rivers, must have
been filled at one time by enormous glaciers, for a moraine 200
feet high extends the whole distance between the rivers, to the south
of the plain. This moraine, called Solovaraka hill, reaches nearly
half a mile towards the south and there rests upon a hill, the top of
which has been much denuded by ice. The northern face is very
steep, like the front of a tip-bank. Plate 49 shows a part of this
moraine with the left side cut away by the river Kola, thus exposing
a section of the whole—a mixture of great boulders, gravel, and sand
from top to bottom. On the plain above described stands the town
of Kola. Founded in the fifteenth century by the monks, who
erected their first monastery on the island in front of the town now
occupied by the old church and graveyard, it had made considerable
progress when Burroughs came in 1556 (in hopes of learning tidings of
Sir Hugh Willoughby), for he then found thirty small vessels anchored
in the harbour. At that time the island formed part of the main-
land, but was afterwards cut off by a change in the course of the
Kola, for this river has often altered its course where it enters the
fjord. Forty years ago, when Mr. Skjcerseth’s father first settled here,

120 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

most of the river still ran between the island and the town, and
vessels of 200 tons could anchor close to his warehouse; now all that
part is dry at low tide. Barents is also said by Rae to have called
here in 1594 on his voyage to Novaya Zemlya, although Gerret de
Vier only states that he anchored at Kildin island off the Kola fjord
for six days; still, as a settlement was founded at Kola in 1565 by the
Netherlanders, it is very probable that Barents visited it. Peter the
Great considered the place of sufficient importance to erect a battery
and large church, but the former was pulled down in 1780. Rae
tells us that “Kola was twice visited by English men-of-war; once
in 1809, and again in 1854, when the gunboat Miranda bombarded
the town and almost destroyed it. In all, nearly a hundred houses,
the old battery (?), two churches, and the Government stores of corn
and salt, were destroyed. The inhabitants are said to have shot two
English sailors, sent on shore for water, and the commander of the
gunboat gave twenty-four hours’ grace to the inhabitants to remove
what they could.” The only relics we saw of the bombardment were
an old cannon damaged by a shot, and some cannon balls; the whole
surrounded by a wooden fence. The size of the town must have
fluctuated greatly at various periods, for we read that in 1582 there
were 1900 inhabitants, whereas now there are scarcely 300, who live
in a long line of wooden houses facing the sea—a north aspect, good
for neither man nor beast.

But I have wandered from the birds, our object in coming here.
In the fjord near Kola we saw two Ospreys, two Whooper Swans, a
Rough-legged Buzzard, and some Cormorants, Several Great Black-
backed Gulls and Herring-Gulls were flying round Abraham’s Crag,
a lofty precipice near the sawmill, where several kinds of birds were
said to nest; and Goldeneyes Clangula glaucion, Velvet Scoters, and
Common Gulls were numerous on the sea. On the mud flats of the
Tuloma we saw a flock of ten or twelve Bar-tailed Godwits feeding,
a sight which raised our hopes very high at the time; though during
the ensuing weeks we often wondered where those birds had gone to

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND I2I

breed. A large flock of Mealy Redpolls passed over the house in the
evening; while Red-breasted Mergansers and Whimbrels completed
our list for the day.

On the 18th, our first visit was to the official in charge of the
forests, from whom we obtained shooting licences at a cost of 50
copecks each, the cheapest we had yet taken out. We then crossed the
Kola river to the east side, where there is a large stretch of low level
ground covered with birch-scrub and juniper bushes. A long ridge
extends behind this low land for some distance, on which a few
stunted spruce mingle with the birch. The whole looked good for
small birds and a number had already arrived, in spite of the heavy
soft snow which covered all the ground except in the most exposed
positions. A flock of about a hundred Bramblings passed close to
us, chiefly males. We noted also Redwings, Fieldfares, Wheatears,
Red-spotted Blue-throats (males singing), Reed-Buntings, a Merlin,
eight Hooded Crows, and several Willow-Grouse. The most interesting
birds we saw were a pair of Pine-Grosbeaks Pyrrhula enucleator on
the side of the ridge; this species evidently breeds there as we found
in the low spruce several old nests which agreed with Wolley’s
description.

An old friend we certainly did not expect to meet at Kola was
the Rook Corvus frugilegus, yet there was no mistaking the solitary
specimen with its bare patch at the base of the beak. We constantly
saw it about the houses during our first visit, but it had gone on our
return in July. We also noted to-day Goosanders, Wigeon, Teal,
Spotted Redshank TJotanus fuscus, and Greenshank Totanus canescens.
Lemmings swarmed in the town, and ran about or lay dead in all
directions. We were puzzled at first what had killed so many, until
we learnt that those destroying imps, commonly called “boys,” spent
their time trying who could kill the most. It was certainly a year
for Lemmings, and these were on migration towards the north-west
as usual; all those from the country between the Kola and Tuloma
rivers collecting here at Kola. The little animals had hugged the

122 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

land as long as possible, though they can swim long distances in quiet
water.

On the 19th we again crossed the Kola river, and struck over the
ridge into another valley, but saw little of interest beyond some more
old nests of the Pine-Grosbeak. The snow was up to our knees in
many places, and the little streams were so swollen that we were con-
stantly stopped by them. Most of the birds we saw on the low ground
yesterday were gone to-day, only a few Redwings being visible. New
records for the day were Meadow-Pipit, White Wagtail, Raven, Sea-
Eagle, Gyr-Falcon Falco gyrfalco, Golden Plover, and Common Scoter,
the two last being common.

On the 2oth we saw Pintail, Teal, and Long-tailed Ducks, and two
pairs of Oyster-catchers. These last were flying down the Tuloma
valley at a considerable height, and did not stop on the shingle beds
at Kola, but passed on to the open coast. To-day we took a boat up
the Tuloma, the finest river I have yet seen in Russian Lapland.
Whooper Swans are common here at this time of the year, as we saw
flocks of seven and four, besides odd birds. The natives say they come
in April, and stop on the river until the early part of June when they
disappear. We saw none in the districts we afterwards visited, al-
though we heard that a Finn had brought a number of their eggs
from the country about the higher waters of the Tuloma two years
before; but our informant knew no exact details. The flock of Bar-
tailed Godwits was still on the mud-flats to-day, but the Greenshanks
had gone up to the hills where we saw them yesterday. After rowing
some three miles we landed under a steep bluff, and soon heard the ery
of a Buzzard, which showed that we were not far from its nest. A long
struggle through heavy snowdrifts to the top of the hill was rewarded
by our finding the nest on a projecting point of rock about thirty feet
below the edge of the cliff, 150 feet high and practically perpendicular,
The nest was quite inaccessible without a rope, and all we could do
was to gaze down on the treasure it contained, a well-marked clutch of
six eggs. The nest itself had evidently been occupied for many years.

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 123

Of course we could not leave a clutch of six Rough-legged Buz-
zards eggs, so our first proceeding the next morning was to purchase
a good length of climbing rope from our friend Mr. Skjerseth. Armed
with this we returned to the nest, and after securely tying our man
into a loop let him down to a small ledge by the side of the nest,
whence he could send up the eggs in a box. We then rowed up
stream to a hill on the opposite side of the river, and found another
nest of this species with six eggs. The position of the nest was also
one perfectly secure against all enemies unprovided with a rope, and
had been used for a number of years. As Musters wanted a specimen
for his collection he shot the female while I blew the eggs. On dis-
secting the bird an egg the size of a pigeon’s was found in the ovary,
so that eventually there would have been seven in this clutch. To
obtain two nests of this species with six eggs in one day is a record
we cannot hope to beat.

After packing the eggs I went up to the top of the hill (550 feet)
to get a view over the country, and saw a Gyr-Falcon come out from
under a projecting ledge near the second summit, the top of the hill
being divided; as the others were waiting for me at the boat I post-
poned investigation till the next day. Sixteen Geese passed over us
to-day going up the Tuloma, and much ice was brought down by
that river last night, both facts causing us to hope that the condition
_ of the interior was improving.

May 22nd—Any idea of going to find that Gyr-Falcon’s nest was
soon dispelled by the impossibility of getting a man to help to row the
boat, for this was an important saint’s day, and the third this week
exclusive of Sunday! Howcan a nation possibly make much progress
in its commercial life when it is blessed with so many saints as Holy
Russia. We suffered on several occasions from the saints, and so had
the subject brought home to us in a practical manner.

Being thus confined to land, we walked up the high ground to the
south, to investigate the condition of the Kola river above the rapids.
As far up as we could see it was still all covered with ice, though the

124 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

ice appeared to be breaking away at the sides in places. That night
a large quantity of ice went past our house and the river rose con-
siderably. A number of Swans, Teal, Wigeon, Pintails, Godwits, and
Greenshanks were feeding on the Tuloma river in some large shallow
bays which were dry at low water, and afforded good feeding-ground
for many species. Musters hid behind some slight cover on a point,
and shot a female Bean-Goose. Its length from tip of bill to end of
tail was 29} inches; bill and feet dull orange yellow, iris dark brown,
no black on breast. The drawing of the beak and head I made
at the time corresponds very closely with that which Mr. F. W.
Frohawk illustrated in the Field, October 4, 1902, as Anser arvensis
(see p. 144).

More White Wagtails have arrived to-day; and new birds seen were
Willow-Wren, Lapp-Titmouse Purus cinctus, Common Sandpiper, Com-
mon Redshank, Arctic Tern, and Lesser Black-backed Gull. On the
23rd we first noted Lapland-Buntings, Shore-Larks, Hazel-Grouse,
Ringed Plover, and Black-throated Divers.

May 23rd.—This not being a saint’s day, we got our men to row
us again up the Tuloma to the hill visited on the 21st. Soon after
landing, we shot a male Hazel-Grouse, the first and only bird of this
species we saw. Mr. Witherby also only shot one, viz. near Lake
Imandra considerably farther south ; and Pleske considered its occur-
rence so far north as the Imandra uncertain, so the species is evidently
rare in this part of Russia. Stopped by rain and obliged to shelter
among the rocks for an hour, we got at last to the top of the hill and
climbed down to where I had seen the Gyr-Falcon, but it was some
time before we could make her come off. She fetched the male and
both flew round with very little noise. A careful examination showed
that the nesting-place was quite safe from all the members of our
party; for it was on a ledge under a projecting mass of rock which
stood out ten feet and extended some distance on either side of it.
The rock was sheer from under this ledge to where we stood, without
the slightest foothold. Neither could the nest be approached from

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 125

the sides as the ledge was not continuous; so we were obliged re-
luctantly to give it up and return to the boat. There were two birds
to-day at the Buzzard’s nest, showing that the male had not been long
in procuring another mate.

On returning to Kola, we heard that two Finns had come down
the Tuloma to-day from Finland; they reported that there was only a
narrow channel of water yet, most of the river being still covered with
heavy ice.

May 24th.—As our chief anxiety now was to get up country, we
walked to the point again this morning where the Kola river is navig-
able, and were pleased to find that all the ice we had seen on the
22nd had disappeared. We heard later in the day that the whole
route to Pulozero was believed to be clear from ice except part of one
lake. The river was rising rapidly, and next day the flood was so
strong we found it impossible to row over to the east bank. We
therefore crossed the Tuloma and spent some hours in exploring the
hills on its west bank, but with very slight result. There were a
number of Red-spotted Blue-throats near the river which seemed new
arrivals. The only fresh birds seen to-day were two Swallows Hirwndo
rustica, and a solitary Red-throated Pipit sitting on a garden fence.
The latter was the only one of its species we saw in the country, and
Mr. Witherby only met with it near Ekaterina, yet I had found it
breeding at all the places near the coast I had visited; from which it
appears that this bird does not penetrate so far inland as its relative
the Meadow-Pipit. The first Redwing’s nest was found to-day with
two eggs,

On the 26th we succeeded in crossing the Kola by selecting a time
when the tide was high, and went up to a lake Mr. Skjcerseth had told
us of. It was the best place for birds we had seen near Kola. Our
troubles began to-day with the Greenshanks, and continued for many
a day, till I almost hated their name. They and the Spotted Red-
shank appear to have brought the “art of nest protection” to per-
fection; the male does not stop around and give the site away, as

126 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

many of the other waders do; he is generally feeding in a marsh a
mile off, and if luck should take you into the neighbourhood of the
nest, the hen bird will never rise unless either you are about to put
your foot on her, or you see her and your eyes meet. Large areas of
the hillsides are covered with a mixture of reindeer-moss and other
lichens which so closely resemble the colouration of the bird, that even
a well-trained eye will fail to detect her in such surroundings. “Oh,
but why did you not watch the bird when she went off to feed?” says
some brother ornithologist, full of pleasant memories of his victory
over this species in the Scotch hills. The circumstances are rather
different ; in Scotland it is often possible with good glasses to watch
the bird from the lake to the nest half a mile away; in Russia how-
ever you hear a hen Greenshank rise from a marsh with her usual
noisy cries, see her fly over one or two ridges to dive in among the
trees, and as the woods are very open, she is probably only taking a
short cut to some place beyond. This bird generally selects a position
for its nest beside a grey-coloured stone, or between two stones, some-
times on the top of a large erratic, or by a piece of grey weathered
wood, but always where the bird can see well around her.

Two Bean-Geese were on the lake—or rather group of tarns—
when we arrived, and were so busy looking after Juno they took no
notice of her master, and came twice within easy shot. Just beyond
the lakes were some high rocks, and here a pair of Ravens had young,
partly feathered. The nest was an old one, very well placed under an
overhanging rock, which made it difficult of access even with a rope.
The old rascals did not like the appearance of the gun, and moved
down the valley, thus trespassing on the private grounds of a Rough-
legged Buzzard which rose at them. This led us to the nest of the
latter, on which the female sat tight while three of us watched her
from the other side of the gully ; it was only when I got close to her
that she rose, showing five eggs. The nest was inaccessible without a
rope, the rope was in Kola town, and the eggs were very poorly
marked, so the birds hatched out in safety so far as we were con-

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND ges

cerned. A Wood-Sandpiper—the first seen this year—and a pair of
Redshanks were feeding close to us while we had lunch; and a Ringed
Plover settled on the ice to rest, evidently rather exhausted, and
probably just arrived on migration. We secured a handsome Ruff
dressed in black and burnt-sienna colours, and his stomach full of
small insects. A Hen-Harrier Circus cyaneus was hunting near us for
a short time, but did not come within range, and we never saw this
species again in the country. Meadow-Pipits were now common every-
where; and we found another Redwing’s nest to-day in a juniper bush,
with three eggs.

May 27th was a day of worries and bothers without end, for we
were at last to make a start for the interior. The route we proposed
to take is I believe the only one in Russian Lapland over which it is
possible to travel during the summer months, except that up the river
Tuloma. In winter when the country is covered with snow, and the
White Sea frozen, it becomes an important highway between the Kola
district and Kandalax, Archangel, and the south. A regular postal
service is then maintained by means of reindeer sledges, and the
inhabitants of the interior transport their yearly supply of flour, sugar,
and other necessaries from the coast to their homes. Goods can then
be sent from Kola to Pulozero, a distance of 69 versts, at a cost of
15 copecks per pood (equal to 36.4 lbs.), an indication of the ease
with which reindeer can draw considerable loads at that time of the
year. This winter road cannot be depended upon beyond the middle
of April, as the snow then becomes too soft to travel over in early
seasons. But in summer all this is changed, the only “road” between
the various lakes and rivers consists of a footpath or track over which
everything must be carried on men’s backs; and as the new lines of
mail-steamers afford an easier and quicker means of transport to the
south, the inland route is now rarely used. The Government still
maintain a service of transport for the use of their officials and other
privileged individuals. The 233 versts from Kola to Kandalax are
divided into seven stations, which are each let by contract every year

128 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

to men who undertake to keep a certain number of persons—gene-
rally four—there during the summer. Travellers having a Govern-
ment red pass are entitled to the services of these people on payment
to the contractor of a few copecks per verst; but those unfortunates
without this most useful paper must make their own bargain—a very
difficult process. After Rae's and Witherby’s experiences I was deter-
mined to take enough food and not to trust the resources of the
country. ‘This entailed an amount of luggage far beyond the trans-
port power provided by the red pass, and much time had been wasted
during the last nine days in trying to come to terms with the men
through Mr. Skjcerseth. After much haggling, it was at last agreed
we should pay 2 roubles 50 copecks from Kola to Kitsa, and 2 roubles
from Kitsa to Pulozero for each extra load of about sixty-five Russian
Ibs. (1 Russian lb. = 0.90282 English lbs.). As forty versts out of
the seventy were by water, these prices paid them well. Then came
the question, how much food would three men require in five weeks ?
I had sent instructions to our host at Pulozero the winter before to
get in an extra supply of flour, but could not learn whether he had
done so. All the provisions had been packed in cases of the right
weight before we left England, the contents being assorted as far as
possible. After much consideration it was decided that eleven of these
must go. Clothes, bedding, collecting gear, &c., were finally so reduced
in quantity as to fill only three waterproof sacks—invaluable for this
kind of travelling—a canteen, and a gun-case, fifteen loads in all, as
the two last items were combined as one. The artful old man of each
party, with a keen eye for a light load, generally made for that canteen
and gun-case, weighed one in each hand, and proceeded to cord them
on his carrying frame, a piece of birch bent in the shape of a capital U
and laced across with cord. Then his troubles began, for those two
things always objected to travel together, and one or other was con-
stantly slipping out of the cords. After having the canteen on his
back an hour, he usually found that lightness was not the only con-
sideration in a load, and that the round canteen hurt his spine. If

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 129

these canteens had one flat side they would be carried with ease by
either man or horse; but it is always difficult to get the makers to
attend to these small details. |

Our headman got rather drunk in the afternoon and declined to
go or to carry a load, but he sobered down in time, and at last we
started from Kola at 8.30 p.m. in a sharp rain, all well loaded with
camera, fishing-rods, &c. Mr. Skjerseth kindly came with us the
first three versts—which must be traversed on foot to avoid some
heavy rapids in the Kola river—as he wished to see us safely loaded
into the boats at Sascheika (Sashyok : Rae), the point where the river
becomes navigable. There is only one hut here, built for the use of
the Customs officials during the winter months. Kola town and the
other ports on this coast have the right to import all classes of goods,
except spirits, free; but if the goods are taken into the interior duty
must be paid on them. We found the boats in fair order considering
they had been exposed to weather all the winter; of course, a few rags
were required to stop cracks, but after that there was little baling.
The boats were heavily laden, ourselves four men and much luggage
in one, and three men with our interpreter and more luggage in the
smaller one. Juno picked the softest sack and most sheltered position,
and took little interest in the scenery ; while we sat perched on boxes,
and made ourselves as comfortable as we could. Although the worst
of the flood—the highest for several years—had subsided, the river
was still very high, and our men had a swift current to fight against
all the way with very few backwaters to ease them. They worked
well the whole night and only stopped three times to eat a little bread
and fish, and smoke. The banks were almost entirely composed of
sand, with a few patches of glacial clay at long intervals; rock in situ
only appearing two or three times in the upper part of the river.
Sometimes these sandy banks rose to fifteen and twenty feet above the
water, but they were generally not more than two or three feet. Low
ranges of hills enclosed the valley of the river on both sides, and were

covered with birch and pine—none of the latter large enough for timber.
I

130 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

It was rather weird rowing on hour after hour through the night up the
silent river, our boats the only sign of human life the whole distance,
In spite of the clouds there was light enough to see the landscape at
midnight, and soon after the lower clouds cleared off, the light in-
creased and b2fore two o'clock it was full daylight again. Two or three
pairs of duck—chiefly Goldeneye—were the only birds seen, except a
Hooded Crow which foolishly rose from its nest in the top of a pine
tree close to our side of the river, for the nest was so well hidden, we
should not have noticed it without the bird’s assistance ; it contained
four eggs, nearly fresh.

We reached Tschongai, fifteen versts from Sascheika, at 4.45 a.m.,
only seven and a quarter hours, very good time considering the stream
and heavy boat. Our landlord at Kola had foretold we should require
a day for that part of the journey. ‘T'schongai consists of one good
new hut, built by Government for the use of the men who erected the
telegraph wires in 1896. Since that work was completed it has been
used only by the boatmen, and the interior was dirty beyond descrip-
tion. We swept a small area for our own use, while the men lit a fire
in the iron stove; and then all proceeded to make tea. We re-com-
menced our journey at 7.15, but were promptly stopped by a side
stream that had carried away the wooden bridge. I went up the
stream nearly a mile, but could find no place to cross. A hen Caper-
caillie got up ten yards off and stopped to watch me a little before she
flew away, but there was no nest. On my return I found Musters in
the midst of a long argument with the men; he had suggested they
should bring the small boat overland 260 yards, and they only asked
30 roubles extra for doing it! At last we told them we would pay
them what Mr. Skjcrseth should say was right, and if they would not
agree to that they might return to Kola, we should stop here till other
men came; our eleven cases of food made us quite independent.
When the men saw we meant what we said they gave way, and the
boat was soon over. After an hour and a half’s delay, mostly wasted
in talking, we started again on our tramp of seventeen versts to Kitsa.

‘OE1 ADV

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 1

Musters saw an Osprey at Tschongai, and there were many small
birds about the place. After walking three versts we put up a Goose
from a marsh and felt sure it had a nest near; but half-an-hour is of
little use for finding a goose’s nest. That was a weary march, in
winter clothing, with good loads, and a hot sun shining on us, over
tundra bogs and snowdrifts; one we shall not forget in a hurry.
There were twelve inches of snow in places over the latter part of the
way, and it was quite clear the road would have been impassable a few
days earlier. I strongly advise any traveller on this road to arrange
his journey so that the walk from Tschongai to Kitsa may be done
during the night. Causeways have been made over the worst pieces
of bog by sawing trees into planks and laying them four wide on cross
pieces; and we gave them many a blessing, except in those places
where the planks were rotten, or rocked on their round lower side.
We reached Kitsa at 2.45 p.m., and the carriers an hour after, as they
had stopped for a short sleep on the way. Plate 51 shows the party
during one of our halts.

The station of Kitsa consists of two huts standing close to the
junction of the Kola and Kitsa rivers. Plate 52 is from a photograph
taken from a bank on the north side; it shows the Kitsa coming from
the left (east) side and the Kola from the south. The hut to the
right is the “rest-house” of the station, and that to the left belongs
to the man who has contracted for this station several years. He
had given us permission to use it, and to break the padlock if locked
up. The back of a small axe removed the latter and allowed us to
take possession. After ten minutes’ sweeping, and a good fire to drive
out the smells, the place was quite comfortable. A Teal that had
recently broken his neck on the telegraph wire near was soon in the
frying-pan, and formed a welcome addition to the meal; a good bird at
any time, but delicious when well fried in butter, with ample supplies
of “ hunger-sauce.” Our canvas hammocks were rigged up to-night
for the first time, and proved most comfortable. No traveller in these
parts should be without them; they are light to carry, and can be

132 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

fixed in a few minutes to hooks screwed into the wooden walls of the
hut ; but the sleeper must not forget to put a double thickness of
blanket under him, as the cold strikes disagreeably through the tightly ~
stretched canvas. We were in bed by 8 p.m. and just going off to
sleep, when the five men from Kola came in to say good-bye. They
were returning home at once, after a meal of bread and dried fish and
an hour’s sleep!

May 29th.—After yesterday’s exertions, short walks easily satisfied
our desire to explore the new country. We were in a similar position
to that at Kola, as the Kitsa river came in from the east, and the
Kola flowed away to the N.N.E.,leaving us only three points of the
compass open to walk over. Both rivers were still in heavy flood, and
there appeared to be little prospect of our continuing the journey for
some days. This did not affect us much, as we were obliged to wait
while the remainder of the luggage was brought on from Tschongai
by the two men remaining with us, who belonged to Kitsa station.
Birds were not numerous here, still we noted during the day Red-
wing, Fieldfare (nest with one egg), Wheatear, White Wagtail, Grey-
headed Wagtail, Meadow-Pipit, Lapp Tit, Reed-Bunting, Redstart, Bramb-
ling, Mealy Redpoll, Rough-legged Buzzard, Teal, Goldeneye, Capercaillie,
Wood-Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, and Greenshank. But the most
interesting birds seen were a pair of Waxwings, which flew past the
hut and disappeared in the birch on the other side of the river.
Unfortunately, this was the only time we met with the species.
Pleske records this bird from the Imandra and from Kandalax. In
the evening the men told us they had found a duck’s nest in a hollow
tree, and as it was but a verst off we went with them to see it. The
duck had been put off the nest by the men and had not yet returned.
We had been hunting for hollow trees some hours that day, and it
was rather provoking to find we had been within a few hundred yards
of this one during our wanderings. The stump stood on the edge
of a steep bank overlooking the Kitsa, and had evidently been in-
habited by the birds for many years, as two triangular holes had been

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 133

» cut in the side facing the river, one two feet below the other. When
the bottom of the cavity sinks through decay of the wood, so that the
men cannot reach the eggs, they cut a new hole lower down the trunk.
We were much pleased to find eleven eggs of the Goldeneye with a
good quantity of down. The eggs were fresh, so we took them home
unblown to make their contents into “buttered eggs” for breakfast.

May 30th—We first went down near the river searching for
hollow trees, but not one could we find suitable for a duck. Several
Siberian Jays came round us with their usual curiosity, and we heard
a Cuckoo for the first time. Fresh birds seen here were Dipper (sp. ?),
Willow-Wren, Great Grey Shrike JZanius excubitor, Willow-Grouse,
Red-breasted Merganser, Whimbrel, Arctic Tern, and Common Gull.
Mr. Witherby also saw Dippers at this place in 1899, so they are
resident here. Redstarts were courting still. We were struck by the
number of pine-trees in all directions, in which Woodpeckers had
bored holes, yet we had not seen a bird; but these trees last so many
years, even when partly decayed, that the results of nearly a cen-
tury’s work may be seen. We then turned to the east, and climbed a
hill whence we obtained a view over much of the surrounding country.
Many lakes were in sight; and the Kitsa, which runs through a broad
flat valley for some five miles before commencing its tumultuous
descent into the Kola, had overflowed its banks and converted the
valley into one great sheet of water. The remainder of the country
was undulating and wooded.

Soon after our return to the hut, a man was seen on the opposite
side of the Kitsa, so Musters crossed in a small flat-bottomed boat,
and brought him over. He turned out to be one of the station men
who ought to have been here awaiting our arrival. After much talk
he went back, promising to bring his son the next day, and help to
carry the remaining luggage from Tschongai. But when the morrow
came he arrived without his son, and declined to assist the other men
at all, saying his station was only from Kitsa to Pulozero, a pro-
ceeding he did not find profitable in the end.

134 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

We caught some good trout during our stay, and they formed a
pleasant change from tinned food. All were taken on a small salmon
fly; they would not look at ordinary trout flies. Mr. Witherby
caught a salmon of 15 lbs. here in 1899, but the Kola cannot be
called a salmon river ; the bulk of the fish go up the Tuloma.

May 31st—We shot the first Three-toed Woodpecker to-day, a
female containing an egg nearly ready to lay. This was the only
Woodpecker we saw, although we heard the birds several times.
Witherby reports them as very common from Kandalax to Kola,
which shows they vary considerably in numbers in different seasons.
Pleske says that Picus minor has been shot at Kitsa, and Dryocopus
martius at Kandalax, but Witherby did not see either species. Musters
had been out alone in the morning, and found a Lapp Tit’s nest
he could not reach, so we sallied forth after dinner, armed with the
necessary tools. We rapped on the tree sharply, but the bird sat
close for some time, and only left when we had nearly reached up
to the hole. Heavy blows on a tree are useless, they only frighten
the bird; but if you scratch with your nails on the bark, like a cat
climbing a tree, the bird will generally come out. The nest was in an
old hole of a Woodpecker (as were all we subsequently found), and
quite eight feet from the ground; so that our first proceeding was to
cut down some birch and build a platform to stand on. Then the hole
had to be cut out with gouges, a work of some time. It was won-
derful that any bird could have bored through that hard firm wood
with its beak. When taking Tits’ or other small eggs the cavity
should be first filled with cotton wool, as chips are liable to fall in and
crack the eggs. At last the hole was sufficiently enlarged to allow
a salt-spoon, tied to a stick, to be worked inside; and seven eggs were
safely extracted, the first we had taken of this species. The bottom
of the nest was of moss, and over this was a thick felted mass of
lemming-hair, making a beautifully warm bed. Musters had seen the
male carry in some of this hair in the morning ; and was therefore
afraid the eggs were not yet laid. The female kept close to us all the

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time we were at work, sometimes within a yard of our heads. Lapp
Tits are amongst the prettiest of the family. We then went to
another nest of the same species we had found on the 29th. This
was in a much smaller fir in a marsh, and only five feet from the
ground. It contained three eggs, and was made of similar materials
to the last.

In the country on the north side of the hill we had climbed last
night, we found birds more plentiful, as they generally are on this
aspect during the breeding season. The only nest we saw was a
Rough-legged Buzzard’s in a dead fir that looked very doubtful as to
its power to bear a man’s weight; but it stood the strain, and the five
eggs were brought safely to ground.

June ist—A Lesser Black-backed Gull arrived to-day and hunted
over the river some time for fish. As the nesting season was ad-
vancing rapidly, we were anxious to push on to our headquarters at
Pulozero, and decided to leave Kitsa to-day, in spite of three cases of
provisions still remaining at Tschongai. This afterwards proved a mis-
take, for they contained some important items, and it was a long time
before we recovered them. It isa golden rule, that should never be
departed from on these expeditions, always to see the whole of your
possessions in front. All behind is beyond control and may not be
seen again.

The river is navigable for two versts above Kitsa, and then a
series of rapids necessitates a walk of three versts; after which there
is an uninterrupted stretch of the river for fifteen versts up to
Murdozero. This stretch of water is called Murdozero lake, but much
of it is really little more than a wide part of the river, and there is a
distinct current all the way. The first boatload left Kitsa at 1 p.m.
Musters and I crossed the Kitsa river (which had fallen more than
two feet since our arrival), and walked to the point above the rapids.
Considerable delay was caused by the men having to go three times
with loads over the portage, so that it was 9.30 p.m. before the work
was finished. While we were waiting for them, a Russian came down

136). BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

the river in a boat rowed by two Lapps, and we soon learnt that he
had been sent to look after us by the telegraphist at Pulozero, in
answer to urgent telegrams from Mr. Skjcerseth. The man had left
that place in a boat, but had been stopped by ice on the lake after
rowing five or six versts, and was obliged to walk round the lake to
the lower end where he had picked up the Lapps. This man turned out
a jewel of the first water, and was our constant attendant during the
next month. As his was the better boat, we decided to take it, after
a little argument with his Lapps who asked five roubles each to row
back, and accepted two. I mention these little matters of prices as
some guide for future travellers in their dealings with this class of
men. From my experience of Russian Lapland, the rouble is the
cheapest thing there. I have known men ask five roubles for a
salmon, and then take a small bucketful of potatoes in exchange.
Mr. Skjerseth explained that the men earned so much money in
winter they hardly knew what to do with it, for their wants were few.

Our new men worked well. The Russian and one Lapp, rowing
on the front seat, joked and laughed all the way, while the other Lapp
steered with an air of importance, as if he were in charge of a 500-
ton ship. He steered splendidly, and never lost a foot; very different
to the old rascal in the second boat who wandered sweetly anywhere
and everywhere, all the time talking and boasting. The consequence
was his boat was soon far behind, and finally arrived an hour after
we did.

The Lapps stopped on the way to show us a duck’s nest, which
turned out to be another Goldeneye’s with four eggs. This tree had
been used so long that three successive holes had been cut to reach
the eggs. We heard from the men there was a large nest on the top
of a tall pine tree a short distance ahead. The description pointed
to an Osprey’s, and raised our hopes unduly, for on reaching the tree
the bird proved to be a Merlin sitting on some old nest—probably a
Hooded Crow’s; a serious disappointment, slightly relieved by the
safe arrival on the ground of five fresh eggs of the usual dark type.

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 137

We saw a number of Lemmings swimming over the river; and the
Russian told us that round Pulozero this spring there had been great
numbers, which had now gone towards the north. Musters caught sight
of a male Tufted Duck Fuligula cristata apparently wounded, as the
bird did not attempt to fly away but only stretched itself flat on the
water as the boat approached, without sinking its body. The species
has not been previously recorded from this district, though Pleske
mentions it at Kandalax and near Kola, the two extremities of the
route. Common Scoters were very numerous on this part of the
river. On reaching the landing-place at 2.30 a.m. we found the only
hut full of men women and children, and a party of men from the
sawmill at Kola asleep in the wood under a calico sheet. That hut
was clearly impossible for us, although our men afterwards found
space on the floor somewhere, so we made a fire and cooked supper
in the open. Unfortunately, rain began soon after we lay down, and
the splash of the raindrops on my mackintosh became irritating in
time! None of us got much more than four hours’ rest, for these
pine-trees give absolutely no shelter.

June 2nd.—After paying off our two Lapps, from whom we were
very sorry to part, we walked across the three versts separating
Murdozero from the bottom end of Pulozero lake, as the river is here
a series of rapids. The rain had now cleared off and the sun soon
made walking with a load anything but a pleasure. As the men had
to cross three times with the luggage, and there was some delay in
getting the boat ready, it was 6.15 before a start was made on the
lake. Pulozero lake is 15 versts long, and our Russian said 10
versts were still covered with ice, which would oblige us to walk
15 to 18 versts round the shore, not at all an agreeable prospect.
The small birds were beginning to nest; we saw a White Wagtail
and Reed-Bunting, both building. I thought I had secured another
Lapp Tit’s nest, but after cutting out the hole in the tree, found
it was a Redstart’s with two eggs. For the first two or three versts
the lake was open, but on turning a corner, miles of ice stretched

138 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

before us, very rotten, but looking quite impassable; the old winter
road was still marked on it by a series of young fir-trees fixed
together in threes. If the timber were of any value the waste of
young trees in marking these routes afresh every winter would be
considerable. There appeared to be a little water in places between
the land and the ice on the west shore, so we made for that; what
wind there was also coming from that direction tended to keep
the ice off. Then followed some hours of hard work, sometimes
rowing, at others towing from the shore, or breaking through those
parts of the ice which were still attached to the bank. Our wretched
steersman did not lighten the work of the other men, yet when we
were at last through our difficulties, he of course claimed the chief
credit! Musters and I walked much of the way, and were struck by
the almost total absence of birds; they do not seem to frequent the
central parts of the shores of these large lakes, but prefer the ends
where there is running water. The last five versts were free from
ice and we reached Pulozero at midnight, delighted to have finished
our travels for the present. The telegraphist, M. Vortsekovsky, was
still up, and received us in full uniform. He not only gave up to us
the best room and put together a second bedstead, but bore with us
patiently while we removed into his room various articles of furniture
which were more ornamental than useful, and took out the double
windows, to admit fresh air for the first time since the previous
summer. A very short experience of our new quarters showed that
we were indeed in clover, and we had much cause to congratulate
ourselves on finding such comfort in this wilderness.

The station of Pulozero stands on a high bank at the head of
the lake of that name, and was built in 1896 or 1897, when the
telegraph line was erected from Kola to Kandalax, under the orders
of Governor Engelhardt, who had personally surveyed the whole
distance * (I think in 1895). A telegraphist and three men are
stationed here in charge of the line, who have to trace out and make

1 “A Russian Province of the North,” pp. 92-106.

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 139

good any damage that may occur to it in their district. Accidents
from falling trees have been guarded against by cutting down all
those for some distance on either side of the line, which thus runs
down a broad avenue. The new station stands at the junction of the
summer and winter routes which divide here towards the south for
some distance, the former going near the Kola river—too rough here
for navigation—to the bottom end of Lake Kolozero (ozero = lake),
and the latter over a line of marshes and lakes to the top end of the
same lake. The old summer station was at Masala (Maselsky: Rae),
a small promontory on the eastern side of Lake Kolozero (Guolle
Yaur, or Fish Lake: Rae) and ten versts from its lower end. Its
site is still marked by a wooden hut. The winter station is called
by Rae, Maselsid, and is situated on high ground ten versts from
Pulozero. This is also to be removed to Pulozero shortly, and most
of the Lapp families who now inhabit Maselsid in the winter will
probably follow to the new official station.

Plate 53 shows the telegraphist’s house, which became our head-
quarters during the next month. To the left is the rest-house pro-
vided for the men of the transport station; and the building to the
right behind the woodstack is a bath-house.

June 3rd.—After unpacking and settling down we went to a large
marsh and lake, four versts south from Pulozero on the telegraph line.
Birds were not so plentiful as we had hoped to find them, still there
were a fair number of Ruffs, Wood-Sandpipers, and Whimbrel. I
flushed one of the last off a nest with four eggs placed quite in a
hollow beside a pool of water (see Plate 54). We also saw several
Bean-Geese but did not think they were nesting here. After much
walking over heavy ground we turned for home through the woods,
finding a Fieldfare’s nest with six eggs and a Lapp Tit’s with five, and
disturbing a male Spotted Redshank and two pairs of Greenshanks in
some small marshes on the hillside.

Of course a pair of White Wagtails were about the house—I do
not remember a group of Lapp huts without them—and eventually

140 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

built in the woodstack. Several pairs of Grey-headed Wagtails
frequented a small marsh near, and a pair of Skylarks singing every
day sounded very like home. Other birds noted here to-day were
Redwing, Wheatear, Redstart, Meadow-Pipit, Swallow, Mealy Redpoll,
Reed-Bunting, Brambling, Willow-Wren, Raven (one or two seen most
days), Golden Eagle (one immature bird passed near the house),
Cuckoo, Wigeon, Goldeneye, Pintail, Common and Velvet Scoter,
Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Common Sandpiper, Common Snipe,
Arctic Tern, and Common Gull.

The first birch leaves were out to-day, and a few days after the
hills were clothed in their beautiful light green. When once the
leaves begin to unfold, the progress is so rapid that one can almost
see it. In 1899 we first saw the leaves on June 29th near Pechenga
gulf, and in 1901 the buds were only swelling when we left Lutni on
June 17th, but those were exceptionally late years. A sharp thunder-
storm with heavy rain passed over in the morning, some of the
flashes appearing to be quite close to the house. We congratulated
ourselves that the storm had not come the day before when we were
sleeping in the open.

June 4th.—We spent seven hours looking after those Greenshanks
and Spotted Redshanks seen yesterday, with no result. A Teal’s nest
with six eggs was on dry ground above the small marsh. Two Yellow
Buntings Lmberiza citrinella were about the house to-day and remained
during the summer ; they were the only ones seen, whereas Mr, Witherby
found this species fairly common in 1899.

June 5th.—As Maselsid was one of the places where the Bar-
tailed Godwits bred in 1899, we were anxious to visit it and find
out whether they had come again this year. Our guide took us a
very good way over dry ground to the left of the lakes we went to
yesterday, and brought us back by a villainous route on the opposite
side. Maselsid is a very old settlement of the Lapps, as shown by
the herbage round the houses; and occupies a knoll, with three lakes
in the immediate vicinity, two of which yield a good supply of fish.

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND I4I

The grass was the first seen since we left Kola, and the telegraphist
sends men here every year to make hay, it being his only source of
supply. Although this was the first week in June, the grass had not
commenced to grow, but was still brown and withered with the winter
frosts; our man burnt off the coarser parts, a forethought for which
we had not given him credit. Most of the houses were in a ruinous
condition exhibiting every stage of decay and dirt; but that belong-
ing to the principal man showed more signs of comfort, and to it
a new room had recently been added, of which we promptly took
possession. A storehouse raised on four posts three feet above the
ground had a good padlock on the door, and the church shown on
Plate 56 was secured in the same manner; all the other buildings
were left with no fastening beyond a piece of string.

Just as we arrived a Hooded Crow passed over and two Godwits
rose at it; but they did not return, and a long search failed to show
any sign of a nest. These were the only pair of Godwits near Maselsid
this season; Mr. Witherby had seen several pairs here in 1899. We
saw one of them again on subsequent occasions, but it never showed
interest in any particular spot, and we came to the conclusion they
had been disturbed either by the Hooded Crow or the Raven, which
hunted over this district most days. A fine fox passed near Musters
while he sat watching for the Godwits, and went within a few yards
of a Whimbrel on four eggs, but the bird sat close and the fox did
not see her.

A Short-eared Owl Asio accipitrinus came round the huts while
we were at lunch, and we saw it often on later visits. This was the
first Owl of any species we had seen in the country this year, a sur-
prising fact considering the number of Lemmings about. After lunch,
Musters went down to the large lake, where he counted over forty
Scoters, chiefly the common variety; a pair of Wigeon were there
also, and two male Long-tailed Ducks fighting for a female. In the
marsh at the head of the lake a number of Ruffs were “hilling,” one
of them in a beautiful white ruff. I turned towards the upper lake, a

142 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

long narrow piece of water with many islets. A pair of Red-breasted
Mergansers settled near me, and a few Teal were feeding, while two
Divers rose in the distance; but there was no boat on any of the lakes,
so we could not explore the islets. We saw one or two Spotted Red-
shanks, and heard their very distinct note repeatedly. Some Golden
Plover were near both lakes, but did not seem to have paired yet;
very few of the small birds had arrived, and we only noted Meadow-
Pipits and Willow-Wrens near the lakes.

The homeward way was not only through deep marshes, but also
over a district which had been devastated by fire some fifteen to
twenty years before, judging from the size of the young trees. Birds
were remarkably scarce, even for these woods, a fact we noticed on
several other occasions in large burnt tracts. I think it is probably
due to the complete destruction of insect-life by the fire; for plants
and insects are very slow in re-occupying their ground in these arctic
regions compared with tropical countries. I never saw a fresh Wood-
pecker’s hole in any partially burnt pine-tree, and I must have examined
many hundreds and almost thousands of trees, during our stay in the
country.

The only eggs seen during the day were a clutch of five Field-
fare’s in a nest on the top of a pine stump three feet high. The
nest and tree were the same diameter, and although a mass of woven
grass-bents might be thought to form a conspicuous object in such a
position, it was not so easily seen. Nearly a week of “summer” had
already passed, yet we noticed flowers for the first time to-day, a few
white multibeer on sunny spots in the drier parts of the marshes.

June 6th.—The weather yesterday had been splendid with a
warm bright sun that made us think summer was really coming, but
to-day was cold and dull with a strong north wind. We crossed the
river to the west side, in the vain hope that birds might be more
plentiful there. A few Bramblings, one or two Willow-Wrens, a pair
of Wheatears (the first seen at Pulozero), a Greenshank, and a
Spotted Redshank, formed the chief items. The only nest found was

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 143

a Fieldfare’s in a young spruce, with five fresh eggs. Two Arctic
Terns sat on a hillock in a pool, looking as if the north wind was too
much for them. A small flock of these birds came to fish two or
three times every day over the lake opposite our house. We saw an
old nest of some bird of prey—probably a Buzzard—in a pine-tree,
the first sign of this class of birds breeding here.

June 7th.—One of the men at the station said he knew of a small
Hawk’s nest a verst from the house, so I went after breakfast with
him to see it, expecting to find a Merlin’s. We did not want Merlins
eggs, for we had already taken them in the district; still it is a great
mistake to damp the enthusiasm of the native, and the nest was only
a verst off! On our arrival there I found the nest was in a hole in a
large dead pine, and the bird a Hawk Owl! This is a good instance
of the reliability to be placed on nine-tenths of the ornithological
information received in these countries. I am often amazed at the
prices paid at auction, or to dealers for eggs received in the first
instance from natives whose knowledge may be illustrated by this
incident. Dead pines retain their bark for some time and then
appear to shed the whole of it during one season; after which they
are as smooth as a flagstaff; and as this tree was almost too large to
grasp, the Russian had difficulty in getting up even with my climb-
ing irons. There were two holes, one eighteen feet from the ground
and the other six feet above that. The tree slanted considerably, and
both holes were, as usual, on the lower side, so that he found it im-
possible to reach round far enough to insert his arm to the bottom of
them. To add to the man’s troubles one of the old birds flew at him
repeatedly and hit his head smartly three times with its wings:
Climbing irons being useless a ladder seemed the only hope; so we
with
the ten nails his fishing station on the lake below afforded. The man

cut down two young firs and fixed five staves—rather far apart!
mounted the crazy ladder to the lower hole and reported five eggs, so
up I went to “lift” my first clutch of Hawk Owl’s, but the first egg
I brought out was a blue one !—a Goldeneye’s. I left the man to

144 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

extract the remainder as the ladder was more fitted to his weight.
After much trouble he reached the upper hole and took out a young
Hawk Owl just changing from down to feathers, so the anxiety of the
old birds was explained. Leaving the men to build the ladder, I had
strolled up the valley and found a Lapp Tit’s nest in a pine tree, with
seven eggs slightly incubated. The male came and fed the female
in the next tree a few feet off while I was cutting out the nest.

We had probably a unique experience to-day, for Musters went
bird-nesting accompanied by two tame reindeer which persisted in
following him for three or four miles, until he finally left them asleep
beside an empty Reeve’s nest, from which he had taken four slightly
incubated eggs. I was joined in my fishing excursion by a tame
Bean-Goose which saw us start in the boat, hurried down the bank,
and swam after us like a little steam-tug, the water mounting half-
way up her neck. When at last she caught us up she swam close
to the boat for more than half-an-hour occasionally tapping at the
side with her beak. This bird was devoted to our Russian, who was
rowing, and followed him everywhere about the place. The tele-
graphist had recerved two young birds (both, I believe, females) the
previous season from another district, and had kept them during the
winter under the kitchen-table surrounded by some wirework. Now
the bills of these two birds were very similar in colouration to those
figured by Mr. Frohawk in the Field, October 4th 1902, as Anser segetum,
while that of May 22nd had even less black than he shows on his
Anser arvensis. Musters shot another Bean-Goose on June 20th at
Maselsid with bill intermediate in colour between the live birds and
that shot on May 22nd. This bird did not appear to have com-
menced to breed. The bird of May 22nd measured 2} inches on
the culmen. The bill of another bird (female) shot June 26th 1895,
at Lutni Russian Lapland, is also intermediate in colour between
those depicted in Mr. Frohawk’s two illustrations, and measures
23 inches. She had three young in down with her; and the bill of
one of those we caught is all black except the nail, which is white.

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 145

I have had far less experience of these birds than Mr. Frohawk, still
I cannot resist expressing the opinion that A. segetum and A. arvensis
will ultimately prove to be the same species, at different ages.

The first Brambling’s nest was found to-day in a spruce, with
one ege. Their earlier nests were generally in these trees, as the
birch leaves had not opened sufficiently to afford them any shelter.
Musters spent the whole day in attending to the Spotted Redshanks
and Greenshanks, but without result. He had seen a Great Grey
Shrike, Black and Red-throated Divers here for the first time. One
of our Lapp boatmen came at night, having rowed ten versts up the
lake to bring us nine eggs of the Goosander, taken from a hollow tree,
and two fine pike for the telegraphist. He had kept the down for
bed-making, but promised to bring it when he heard the eggs were
useless without it, and this he afterwards did. Both pike and perch
are common in some of the lakes here.

June 8th.—As there were no Godwits about Pulozero we decided
_ to spend two or three days at Maselsid and try to learn more of the
pair we had seen there. Taking two men to carry blankets and food,
we arrived in three hours, and “camped” in the room already men-
tioned. After lunch we walked round the small lake near the huts
and struck up towards the north-east to another marsh, as we had
seen one of the Godwits fly in that direction on our last visit; but
there was scarcely a bird on the marsh. A fox and a buzzard on the
other side were so much engaged in watching each other, they took
no notice of us. We then turned into a wood on the ridge near and
found a colony of Fieldfares. All the nests contained five eggs, each
in similar stages of incubation. Those birds we had found breeding
at Pulozero had not laid full clutches, though that place is at a con-
siderably lower level. Only one nest of this species found in 1903
contained six eggs, and all the Redwings had five, whereas in I901
and previous years both species generally laid six, and in some
instances seven. I was told on my return to England that passerine

birds here had generally laid short clutches this year, so that the
K

146 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

desire to reduce the size of their families was general. One man
returned to Pulozero that afternoon; directly after leaving the hut
he shot a female Common Scoter on the lake near, and secured it by
means of a crazy old raft. This shot brought up a female Godwit,
which called at us a little and then flew away towards the north-
east. The next day she was chasing a Hooded Crow, after which she
again flew clear away. We saw no other Godwits during our visit.
The hours we spent searching for that bird’s nest! We took the
ground in sections that we thought she came from when the gun was
fired, and went over every yard of it; nor did we neglect any likely
spot for a mile round. A Common Teal had eight eggs under a
dwarf spruce; they were slightly incubated.

June 9th.—To-day we divided, taking different directions. Both
saw a pair of Spotted Redshanks and a male of the same species
feeding near the lake next to the house. Musters watched them more
than two hours without result. This bird was almost as scarce as the
Godwit here. The only nests seen were two Reeves’ and a Whimbrel’s.

June 1oth.—After the lovely weather we had experienced for
some time, to-day came as a most disagreeable change. It spotted
with rain when we turned out in the morning, continued as a heavy
“Scotch mist” all day, turned to sleet in the evening, and snowed all
night and all next day up to 6 p.m., by which time the snow lay
eight inches deep in all the sheltered places. We went down to ex-
plore some large marshes towards the south that Musters had seen
the day before, but found little on them beyond a few Whimbrel and
Snipe. Two Broad-billed Sandpipers Limicola platyrhyncha rose near
us, the first seen here. I fear they had cause to be thankful no gun
was out to-day. ;

We had a good laugh at Juno; she had had a heavy day yester-
day, and not liking the look of the weather, turned for home soon
after we started, with tender recollections of the Russian’s down-bed
she had recently quitted. But, alas, she had not taken into account
the fact that we fastened the door when we left! She met us at

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 147

night a mile from home, wet, and very glad to see us. Whilst we
were at dinner the man ran in to say a cock Willow-Grouse had called,
he was sitting on one of the other huts, and stopped to dinner—owr
dinner—next day.

June 11th.—This was one of those days when a Lapp hut with a
good fire is much more appreciated than the best of tents. I turned
out for three or four hours in the afternoon in the hope that Waders’
nests would be visible in the snow, but found nothing beyond a Red-
wing’s with four young and one egg. In the evening the sun came
out and shone over a thoroughly winter scene, relieved only by the
green of the young birch leaves where the snow had fallen from them.
Plate 55 was taken at 8.15 that night, when the sun had already
begun to affect the snow on the roofs. Plate 56 was taken at the
same time, and represents the village church with part of what
we called the home lake behind it. The mountains around Lake
Imandra stood out splendidly in their white covering against some
dark clouds. Later in the evening there was sharp frost in spite of
the sun, and icicles a foot long hung from the eaves of the houses. A
male Snow-Bunting stayed about the place some hours, probably
driven out of his course by the storm, as there was no breeding-ground
for him within many miles.

I lay sleepless in my hammock for hours, partly on account of
our Russian, who was the finest snorer I ever met or wish to meet,
and was just dozing off about 3.30 a.m., when a Lapp walked into the
room and seated himself on the hearth. He explained that our
thoughtful host had sent him with twelve or fourteen reindeer to take
us home, as he knew our food must be low, and feared the snow would
stop our return. All three of us were promptly out of bed, and after
a good meal which practically exhausted our supplies, we started in
three sledges at 5.15. This was a new experience for both of us, and
although there was not sufficient snow to cover the humps and tree-
stumps, we saw enough to learn that under proper conditions it must
be one of the most delightful forms of travelling. So Juno thought

—

148 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

who persisted in riding, even over the rough places where her master
walked, until she had been pitched head first into the snow once or
twice.

June 13th.—We found a White Wagtail’s nest to-day with five
eggs inside an old Fieldfare’s nest built in a spruce near the river;
also, those of two pairs of Grey-headed Wagtails with six and five eggs
in a marsh behind the house. The latter is shown in Plate 57.
Four yards from it on the side of a hummock was a Meadow-Pipit’s
nest with six eggs. This bird was one of the commonest in the
district, and we found its nests constantly during our stay. Three
nests of the Reed-Bunting all contained six eggs.

In the evening the telegraphist took me to some large marshes we
had heard much of, said to be five versts off; but three hours and a
half were occupied in getting there. We had to cross a large lake,
with stony banks two to three feet high, in a boat which reminded
me of those we had suffered from in 1899. The marshes extended
a mile; and were generally dryer than usual. I fear the word
“marsh” conveys a poor idea to the general reader, who pictures a
combination of water rushes and other aquatic plants. The word
denotes in this part of Russia a tract of country which is too wet to
support trees, and is covered by a variety of mosses and low-growing
plants. Again we were disappointed, for there were only a few Whim-
brel, Snipe, Teal, and Wigeon. My guide said that during his stay in
the country he had never seen so few birds about as this year. One
of the men found a Willow-Grouse on twelve eggs, and shot her; the
cock had a narrow escape. The man carried a 16-bore breech-
loader, and used it with effect on several occasions. During my
absence Musters had caught with a spoon bait three good trout between
five and six pounds each.

June 14th gave nothing to record, beyond a Lapp Tit’s nest with
young and eggs. We patched up the hole with bark, and the bird at
once returned to the nest. The Brambling’s nest, found a week since
with one egg, had now seven.

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 149

June 15th.—Many Bramblings and Mealy Redpolls had come
during the last two days; some stretches of woodland were full of the
latter. We spent the day at the marsh visited on the 3rd, and found
more birds there. The Reeves’ eggs were now considerably incubated.
Their positions varied, some being on dry ground, and others on bogs
where we sank above the boot tops. A Tufted Duck had nine fresh
eges on very wet ground close to a small stream; under the eggs was
last year's nest with the hatched out egg-shells. When returning we
noticed a Black-throated Diver on a small lake carrying its head low
as if trying to hide. Musters stayed behind to watch, and soon after
saw the other bird go on to the nest on the other side of the lake;
there were two fresh eggs within six inches of the water.

June 16th.—A range of hills on the opposite (western) side of the
lake, which rose above the limit of tree-growth, had aroused my
curiosity since our first arrival; for they seemed to have great possi-
bilities of Dotterel, Buffon’s Skua, and other birds, so I decided to
visit them to-day. One man said it was five versts to the first hill,
another eight! Musters expressed a faint hope he should see us
again the next morning. Accompanied by two men I started at 2.15
p.m., reached the top of the first hill at 4.5, and the third at 5.15.
The first is 680 feet, second 710 feet, and third 1110 feet above Lake
Pulozero. From the last I had a very fine view over many miles of
country from the hills about Kola to beyond Raz-Navolok on Lake
Imandra. Below were many lakes of all sizes, but not a bird on them
as far as I could sce with my glasses, certainly not a Swan. The
scenic effect was heightened by some grand storm-clouds sweeping
over, and sprinkling us with snow at times. Reindeer had fed over all
the high ground and eaten the reindeer-moss down almost to the
roots. We worked those hills well, walking in line over the parts
above the trees, which ceased at an elevation of about 550 feet, but
not a bird did we see, though much of it looked like good Dotterel
ground. Other hills towards the north rose to a higher elevation, but
after the absolute failure these had proved, I did not feel inclined to

150 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

explore them. I noticed some large moraines between the second and
third hills. The only eggs were a clutch of five Meadow-Pipits on the
edge of the tree-line. An old nest of the Mealy Redpoll in one of the
highest bushes confirmed our experience at Lutni that they breed as
high up as the scrub extends. On our return at 9.15, I heard Musters
had had equally bad luck. Both Greenshanks and Spotted Redshanks
were absent from the places where we had seen them before, and he
had found nothing except a nest of young Fieldfares.

June 17th we spent again on the large marsh to the south, and saw
some Red-necked Phalaropes for the first time here. The chief find
was a Grey-headed Wagtail’s nest with seven eggs, an unusual number.

June 18th.—Bramblings are irregular in their time of nesting, for -
while some had laid up and commenced to sit, others were now
building. The species was very common round the head of Pulozero
lake, and suftered considerably from the crows or some similar robber,
as we often found that nests we had marked were rifled. Nearly half
the nests we took contained seven eggs, so the cause of small clutches
in the Fieldfares did not affect the Bramblings. The first Willow-
Wren's nest was seen to-day.

June tgth was too wet and close most of the day to do anything
besides fish, so we filled our larder and that of the telegraphist. A
Sedge-Warbler was singing some time near Musters, by the river; I
had seen one two days before on the large marsh. In the evening I
went over the hill to the lake near which the Hawk-Owls had their
nest. A male Tufted Duck was feeding in the shallow water at the
head, and his mate was sitting on nine eggs near the other end. The
nest was prettily placed on a little spot of land, and would have made
a good photo had the camera been there. A pair of Red-throated
Divers seemed anxious, but had no nest on my side of the lake; their
egos were not sufficient inducement to make the circuit of the other
side, so I left them and the duck to hatch out in peace. These Divers
were scarcer than the Black-throated here; we expected to have seen
more of both where lakes were so numerous.

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND Ret

June 20th.— We paid another visit to the marshes at Maselsid
to-day. On our arrival Musters disappeared for two hours, and at last
returned from the top marsh with a Bean-Goose, a male Spotted Red-
shank and his four young in down, one or two days old. This was a
dreadful blow, for it showed the time had nearly past when we could
hope to obtain one of the chief treasures we had travelled so far to
find. The fact was that 1903 proved to be a year absolutely devoid
of “luck,” a most important factor in the success of an expedition.
There are years when good things are secured with an ease and
frequency which almost lead you to believe they are due to your own
ability ; and there are others when you may work most of the twenty-
four hours in each day and take nothing worth having. As far as I
know, only two Englishmen have taken the eggs of the Spotted Red-
shank, viz., Wolley and Meinertzhagen. Mr. Dresser quotes a letter
from the former to Hewitson in “ Birds of Europe,” vol. vill. p. 171, in
which Wolley says: “ The nests I have described were found quite by
good luck.” Meinertzhagen, who found eggs of this bird on June 5th
(p. 26), says nothing of the “luck,” although I strongly suspect it was
present. Wolley’s statement removes much of the sting from our
failure, and leaves only a hope for better fortune on our next en-
deavour to secure eggs of this bird. Musters said that the legs of the
Redshank were a brown-black with a touch of Indian red down the
sides when he picked up the bird immediately after shooting it, while
the male birds he saw at Kola had orange-red legs, and those he had
often seen in Norway on migration in August had also orange-red legs.
Meinertzhagen reports (p. 79) that the incubating bird was a male, so
possibly this change of colour has some protective advantage during
incubation. In all three cases when we secured young in down of this
species, the male bird was in charge and the female never appeared on
the scene. He had a black bill with a patch of red at the base of the
mandible ; the iris was nearly black.

Musters had seen fourteen geese in one flock and four in another,
all Bean-Geese. A Grey-headed Wagtail whose nest we found on the

L52 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

17th with four eggs, had still the same number and was sitting.
Flowers and butterflies were now becoming more common; many
white pinguicula had opened their delicate little blooms and with the
pink andromeda relieved the dreariness of the peat, while the ¢rollius
showed colour near the houses. Still this certainly cannot be called a
land of flowers; they seemed to be fewer both in numbers and species
than in any other part of Lapland.

On the 21st we found a nest with three eggs of the Spotted Fly-
catcher Muscicapa grisola the first indication of its presence here.
Pleske records this species from Lake Imandra and Kandalax. Mr.
Witherby saw one pair of the Pied Flycatcher on the south shore of
Lake Imandra, and Musters thought he heard its note at Pulozero, but
we did not see the bird.

June 22nd.—As all our efforts to find a nest of the Bar-tailed God-
wit at Pulozero had failed, we decided to go to Raz-Navolok to-day and
see if the species was breeding there. The distance from the head of
Lake Pulozero to Lake Kolozero is said to be four versts, but it took
us quite an hour, walking at a rate of nearly four miles an hour. I
found the latter lake was 60 feet above the former by aneroid.
Leaving Pulozero at 1.40 p.m., we started on Kolozero at 2.50 and
traversed the fifteen versts to the head of the lake in two and a half
hours, sailing part of the way. Then came another tramp over the
short verst which divides Kolozero from Lake Pereyaver and forms the
watershed between the Arctic Ocean and the White Sea. We were
glad to find that Mr. Witherby’s flies had not yet appeared on the
scene, nor did we meet with them on our return. VPereyaver is the
Lapp, and Permosozero the Russian name of the lake, while Rae gives
it as Pieresozero. We started on this lake at 6 p.m., and assisted by
a good breeze most of the way, completed the twelve versts at 8.10 p.m.,
and then stopped for a meal. A good dry path across the next portage
made its four versts appear short ones. Just before reaching Lake
Imandra, Juno put up something a few yards from the path, and
rushed off after it; then returned to assist in the search and “set” a

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 163

Capercaillie’s nest with seven eggs nearly ready for hatching. The
nest was on rather damp ground and thinly covered with juniper
scrub.

There is a good hut at the head of Lake Imandra where the river
Kurenga (Koro : Rae) enters it from Lake Pereyaver ; and good fishing
also we heard, confirmed by a small Lapp camp with nets and boats a
little lower down. A bitterly cold north-east wind, which brought
several heavy showers of rain, took us rapidly over the fifteen versts of
water to Raz-Navolok, where we arrived at 1 a.m., starved through.
The station consisted of one wooden hut, shown on Plate 58, and two
small turf, I find it difficult to select an English name which
will convey any idea of these human residences, and therefore refer the
reader to Plate 14, where he will see two similar “ houses” to the left
of the picture. As I opened the door of the hut, a puff of air met me
which seemed quite strong enough to take a wasp nest. A man and

his wife were asleep on a wooden bed in one corner, and a young man on
another in the opposite one. However wind and rain clearly showed
we must join the party. All got up at once to welcome us, and made
a good fire which cleared the atmosphere a little— most important item
—restored us to a reasonable degree of warmth, and cooked our
supper. I counted twelve people in that hut whilst we were eating.
At last some of them cleared out and we fixed our hammocks up, but
the fame of these new beds spread, and we had an admiring audience
of four women besides men to see us in them. Finally the man and
woman returned to their bed, two of our men joined the young man
in his, and we swung between them. The lady and her husband are
depicted in the left of Plate 59 and the youth to the right.

June 23rd.—Our Russian had lived at Raz-Navolok for some
time as one of the station hands before he was employed on the
telegraph, so he knew the country. He took us over a well-marked
path to the winter station which lies some little distance from Lake
Imandra. This is a place of much greater importance than the
summer one, and consists of a church, three large houses of two

154 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

storeys, and a number of Lapp huts, many of the last much decayed.
The three houses have been erected by Government for the use of the
seamen on their annual journeys north and south. These men leave
their ships in the fjords on the northern coasts of the country, and
sledge overland to their homes in the towns round the White Sea, to
spend the winter with their families. They return north to their
ships in March, and are thus able to get to sea about two months
earlier than if they waited for the ice in the White Sea to break up.
At the time of our visit the whole place was uninhabited.

A large marshy tract extends for nearly a mile from these houses
to the lake below. Birds were numerous here, Wood-Sandpipers,
Whimbrel, Golden Plover, Greenshanks, &c., objecting strongly to our
disturbing them; but we had travelled over more than half its length
before we heard the note of the bird we had come for. A male Bar-
tailed Godwit, in his handsome breeding plumage, was sitting on a
pine-tree, giving out loud angry notes. I shall not attempt to repro-
duce them, because most of the efforts to print intelligibly the notes
of birds have appeared to me such dismal failures I prefer not to join
the band of interpreters. This bird behaved very differently to those
we had seen at Maselsid, and it was at once quite clear that he was
part owner in a nest not far off; but where? We tried for some
time to discover what particular section of the marsh he was most
interested in; this failed utterly, partly through preconceived ideas of
what his behaviour ought to be. Then Musters devoted himself
to watching that bird, while I took a part of the marsh I thought the
most likely to contain the nest, and searched it yard by yard, and
our two men wandered hopelessly about. After this had gone on for
an hour and a half the Russian went off into the wood near; and on
his return, as he emerged from the fringe of small trees forming the
edge of the wood, he nearly stepped on the hen bird, which rose with
cries even louder and more angry than those of the male, from
four young, hatched certainly within the last twelve hours, for the
remains of the egg shells still lay in the nest. And we had come for

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 155

eggs, not young in down. If that was not a trying moment to the
temper, I leave fellow-ornithologists to imagine one !

Professor Newton writes to me that Wolley never found the eggs
of this species himself, therefore Mr. H. L. Popham appears to be the
only Englishman who has done so (Jbis, 1897, p. 105). He took
four nests on the Yenesei river in 1895, two with eggs and two with
young; but found none there in 1897. Mr. Witherby also caught
two young in down on July 16th, and saw four more on the 23rd, and
thought they were then about a week old. In both cases the male
bird was in attendance, while Mr. Popham found him so in three out
of the four.

The other man had been within a few yards of the nest, but the
female had not stirred. When we knew its position we were able to
trace the action of the male during the whole time we had been on
the ground, and found it corresponded very closely with that usually
taken by the male Black-tailed Godwit under similar circumstances.
A few pines—chiefly dead—were scattered over the area where we
first disturbed him, and he perched on these, screaming loudly, until
the man went near the nest, when he came down to the ground and
redoubled his cries; on several ‘occasions he flew towards the nest in
front of the men. In fact, if we had only understood his procedure,
he completely “gave the show away,” behaviour very different to that
of the Greenshank and Spotted Redshank. Of course this was pro-
bably due to our having disturbed the pair during the interesting
period when the young had just been hatched; and it is absurd to
deduce general rules from one pair of birds. Still I think it will be
found that the two species of Godwit act very similarly when they
have a nest; and those accustomed to the ways of the Black-tailed
will have little difficulty in locating the nest of the Bar-tailed species.

One of the young was still in the nest when I arrived at the spot ;
we caught the other three a few yards off after considerable trouble,
and replaced them in the nest, but it was impossible to keep them
quiet until Musters shot the old birds. An hour and six films were

156 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

wasted before I took the photograph reproduced in Plate 60. Rain
and mosquitoes added considerably to my troubles, and much patience
was necessary. ‘The nest was placed on a hummock of green moss,
and was of a deep saucer-shape, deeper than a Whimbrel’s. It was
lined with lichen and dried moss. Although not shown in the photo-
graph, a little scrub gave the sitting bird partial shelter. The legs
of the young birds were a wigeon-grey colour, and those of the old
birds nearly black. Neither of the old birds had any incubation
spots.

On our return to the station at night a telegraph official, passing
through to Kandalax, immediately recognised the bird, gave its
Russian name, and said it was found in dry marshes. No other
native knew it, all called it a Whimbrel.

And this was all we saw of the Bar-tailed Godwit at Raz-
Navolok !

June 24th.—Having found only one pair of Godwits, we asked
for more marshes, and were taken to some beyond those visited
yesterday. These did not hold nearly so many birds. The only
prize secured was a male Spotted Redshank with his three young in
down. The old bird was calling, and evidently very anxious, in a
marsh at the end of a lake, so we promptly shot him, as it is quite
useless to try and find the young while the old bird is crying round.
Even when only hatched a few hours, the young of all Waders appear
to scatter at the first note of alarm, and then squat absolutely still
until they receive further orders. These tactics much reduce the
chances of an enemy securing all four. I am convinced by many
hours of watching that the old bird is to some extent able to direct
their subsequent movements. When danger is imminent they are
told to remain still, but as soon as it appears to have passed a little,
they are led to a safer spot; and they creep through the slightest
cover like a mouse, taking advantage of every inequality of the
surface. But if the old bird be removed and you sit still, the young
get up after a time and call for the lost parent, using far less caution.

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 157

We sat an hour and a half listening for their little “ peep peep” before
we could locate three of them. The yolk was still in their stomachs, so
they had not been hatched long, yet they were forty yards apart ; and
one, which appeared only able to toddle, travelled twenty yards after
I first sighted him. Those who have not been engaged in these
hunts cannot realise how difficult it is to see the little things among
the lichen, &c., as long as they remain quiet. The old Redshank
stands in a very upright position ; but is rarely still, constantly bending
his body with a rapid jerk, at least when he thinks danger is about,
and even with glasses I never had the pleasure of watching him when
he did not know I was there.

We were very disappointed in the country, for our Russian said
these were all the marshes within reach; far too much wood and too
little marsh. Juno discovered a brood of young Capercaillie yesterday
and one of Willow-Grouse to-day.

June 25th.—We went on a forlorn hope across the lake, which is
here five versts wide, to some marshes on the east side which the men
predicted would be little use, and they were right. Before us rose the
Hibsinski Mountains, faintly shown on Plate 58. Governor Engelhardt
states (p. 79) that some of these peaks rise 970 feet above the lake,
which in its turn is 140 feet higher than the sea level; but I feel sure
that some mistake (possibly feet in place of metres) has been made
here in the translation, for both lake and mountains are of much
higher elevations. Rae says the lake is over 500 feet above the sea
(p. 230) and gives Umpdek Dunder as the name of the range of
mountains, while Lieutenant Temple, in his paper published by the
Royal Geographical Society, calls this range the Umbdek-dunder, and
states they rise to an elevation of 2500 feet, a height which is pro-
bably much nearer the correct one than that given by Governor
Engelhardt. All the lower hills had been rounded by ice, and the
valleys were full of ice-borne stones, now covered with thick moss. I
noticed many moraines in the parts we traversed.

Two pairs of Greenshanks evidently had young near the first lake

158 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

and flew at us repeatedly, swooping close over our heads. Several
Wood-Sandpipers had also hatched off; we secured one family of four
young in down, not more than a day old. The next lake and marsh
a mile beyond yielded no better results, and the men said there were
no others within twenty versts. We saw another family of Hawk-Owls
here. More than a square mile of the wood had been burnt within
the last two or three years, and presented a most drear picture—
thousands of young trees stretching their withered arms to the sky,
and waiting for some kind gale to lay their dead trunks on Mother
Earth, where they might return to the mould from which they
grew. In most places the fire had only burnt the moss and charred
the trees for twelve to eighteen inches up their stems, but it had
evidently killed their roots, most of which run near the surface of
the ground.

A trout, caught when recrossing the lake, was of a deeper red and
better eating than any from Lake Pulozero.

June 26th.—There being no more marshes and no more Godwits,
we decided it would be better to return to Pulozero to-day, and left
Raz-Navolok at 11.45 am. When near the spot where we found the
Capercaillie’s nest, both of us noticed a new bird’s note, so distinct
that it attracted attention at once. Musters commenced to stalk the
bird, and shot it after some trouble in the top of a high pine. On
examination, we decided it must be an Eversmann’s Warbler Phyllo-
scopus borealis, which was afterwards confirmed. Mr. Witherby did not
meet with this species, but Mr. H. Goebel records it as breeding in the
north-west and Kola districts. I caught four good trout on Lake
Pereyaver, and touched seven more while rowing down Lake Kolozero,
but none of these were hooked; it was little use to fish after g p.m.
We stopped to explore three small islands at the upper end of Lake
Pereyaver, and found on the first one a Velvet Scoter’s nest with five
fresh eggs, and a Lesser Black-backed Gull’s with two, nearly hatching.
Two Willow-Grouse were here, but the only nest we could find was a
year old and contained nine egg-shells. A pair of Grey-headed Wag-

‘OSI MOVE

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 159

tails had a nest with young. Several sucked eggs of ducks showed
that the Raven had been before us.

The second island held nothing; but on the third Juno found a
Common Scoter’s nest with seven eggs, and the men a Lesser Black-
backed Gull’s with three, hatching. This island contained the only
Diver’s nest, a Black-throated, with one fresh egg; the other egg,
recently sucked, lay on the opposite side of the island, and a similar
fate had befallen a number of ducks’ eggs.

We arrived at Pulozero at 3 am. All were asleep, but the door
was unfastened as usual, so we were able to return to our quarters and
cook a meal without disturbing the household. I sometimes wonder
whether the locked or the unlocked door, with all it signifies, is the
higher form of civilisation.

June 27th.—We had left the Spotted Flycatcher’s nest till to-day
to get a complete clutch. There were now five eggs, and we saw the
bird well. Another Eversmann’s Warbler was singing in the wood
near the house, and we occupied some time searching for the nest, a
forlorn hope, as they had probably recently come or we should have
heard them before. Soon after leaving the Warbler we surprised a
Wood-Sandpiper with its four young, in a small marsh. As these were
a day old apparently, they had not scattered more than ten yards,
and lay perfectly still in shallow water among the scant herbage.
Every little one was really fully exposed to view, yet it took us more
than half-an-hour to see them. The old bird was very much in
attendance all the time. When caught, I put the young in my coat
pocket, where they soon began to cry for their parent; and that bird
not only followed me through the remainder of our short walk, but
also back to the station, nearly a mile away. He—for I feel sure
only the male would have done it—often settled on the young trees
within five feet of me, and expressed very clearly his views of my con-
duct. As we reached the first hut of the settlement he left, and I
watched him fly back to the neighbourhood of the marsh where we
had found the young. I hoped I had got rid of my accuser, but no;

160 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

he returned and settled on a low shed close to the house. I need
scarcely say the young ones continued to answer his cries from my
pocket the whole way. I have never met with a similar case, although
I have repeatedly carried home young which made themselves heard
distinctly, Young in down should never be killed when just found;
they keep much better if carried home alive and then plunged into a
jar of methylated spirit—the quickest and easiest death possible.
June 28th.—We spent eight hours to-day on the first large marsh
to the south, excursions to which have been repeatedly described. The
only eggs taken there were a very finely marked clutch of Snipe; the
nest had been found on our last visit with one egg. This bird sat
until Musters was within a foot of it, and then only rose when he
stood still, thinking he must have reached the spot: an example of
how easily sitting birds may be passed. They rarely rise if you walk
straight on, but there is much more chance of putting them up if you
take a zigzag course and stop occasionally to look round. We shot
three Broad-billed Sandpipers here; all were afterwards found to be
males, although the second was thought at the time to be a female, as
it did not sing and kept on the ground. This species was almost the
only one among the Waders of which we noticed more than Mr.
Witherby did in 1899. He found a pair at Raz-Navolok (where we
did not meet with it), and two birds near Pulozero. One bird I was
much surprised not to see in this country, viz, the Dunlin; there
were large areas well adapted for its breeding-ground. Mr. Witherby
did not find it, and Mr. Goebel only mentions it as obtained near the
coast. I saw Dunlins at Lutni, nearly seven degrees to the east of
Pulozero, and at several places on the northern coast; and in all other
expeditions I have found it breeding near the sea. On looking up
this subject in Dresser’s “ Birds of Europe” and the 4th edition of
“Yarrell ”—the sheet-anchors of the working ornithologist respecting
British birds —I noticed a statement in the former respecting the
Dunlin with which I cannot agree. Mr. Dresser says (p. 24, vol. vill.):
“In Iceland it is stated to be not so numerous as the Purple Sand-

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 161

piper,” but does not give his authority. Now I have seen flocks of
many hundreds of Dunlins at Eyrarbakki on the south coast early in
July ; and doubt whether the whole of Iceland contained as many
Purple Sandpipers as I saw Dunlins that day; they were only the
advanced guard preparing for migration to the south.

We were returning home fairly tired, for some hours had been
spent tramping through bogs up to our knees in hopes of finding a
late Wood-Sandpiper’s nest in the tussocks of coarse grass, when the
sight of a male Spotted Redshank which evidently had young, put
new life into us. He fell on the opposite side of the marsh apparently
dead, but turned out to be a “runner.” Fortunately, there was still
ice fifteen inches below the surface, so we got across the marsh safely.
The young were there, but what a hunt the little rascals gave us, for
they were older than those we had previously found, and pin-feathers
were showing in their wings. It was only after two hours’ hard work
that we secured three of them, which have gone to the British
Museum, the first specimens of young Spotted Redshanks received
there. Three young Ruffs—unfortunately for themselves—were
mixed up with the Redshanks, and came away with them. Their
mother was in close attendance; her only note being a grunt.

As we walked down the side of the smaller lake nearest the
station, a Black-throated Diver suddenly rushed off the bank close
to us. When thirty yards off it turned round and shook its wings at
us. This species will sometimes come almost up to the land, as if
about to attack the intruder, when it has incubated eggs. It was
on the opposite side of this lake that Musters took two eggs on the
15th, but we could not say whether they were the same birds.

June 29th.—Our diaries and other work were so much behind,
it was 5 p.m. when we set out to visit some islands at our end of
Lake Kolozero. As we walked up the path to the lake, a Goldeneye
flew over and appeared to have an interest in some of the trees near ;
a short search showed which it was—a dead tree only seventy yards

off, with two small holes in its side and its stem covered with down.
if

162 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

The bird must have gone in and out of the top of the tree, as the
holes were too small to admit my hand, but she had pushed the
down out through the holes before taking the young ones to the
water; a fact which Musters had often observed before although I
had not. This nest was a good illustration of our want of “luck,”
for we had been repeatedly within a few hundred yards of it during
the previous weeks, but never near enough to see it through the
intervening trees.

The first little island held nothing, but on the second we were
more fortunate, as we found a Red-breasted Merganser’s nest with
seven fresh eggs, a Wigeon’s with six slightly incubated, a Meadow-
Pipit’s with six, and a Reed-Bunting’s with seven much incubated.
The Scoters we had hoped to find were not there. Then we rowed
out to a large heap of stones, deposited by some old glacier long ago,
against a wind so heavy that it was very doubtful for some time
whether we should reach the islet. A pair of Herring-Gulls had
three eggs, and a nest of the Lesser Black-backed Gull held three,
with a young bird just emerging from one of them. Two pairs of
Arctic Terns had nested on a small piece of shingle driven up by
the waves, and made a great deal of fuss as usual; while a White
Wagtail had young amongst the stones, as it accompanied the boat
with its mouth full of food. A few Whimbrel completed the
population. The lower end of the lake is very shallow, and its
bottom covered with large stones, probably ice-borne.

June 30th.—Like Mr. Dick in his efforts to keep King Charles's
head out of his Memorial, I have tried to avoid the subject of
mosquitoes; but they had now become too obtrusive to be ignored ;
and as also there appeared to be little hope of now securing eggs of
the two birds we were specially interested in, we decided to return
to-day to Kola. The difficulties of transport were even greater from
Pulozero; so we generously presented the telegraphist with the bulk
of our remaining stores, for which he was really grateful, and insisted
in return on providing our last meal. The first course was nettle

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BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 163

soup thickened with chopped meat and hard boiled eggs, so like
spinach soup that we wondered why the weed was not more used in
our own country. Then followed reindeer tongues—very good; next,
eggs and bacon (our own bacon); while strawberry-jam tart closed
the repast. We were sorry to leave our kind host, who had done
all in his power to make our stay a pleasant one, and had given us
every assistance possible in our work. At last the final good-byes
were said, and we started on our homeward way at I p.m. in two
boats; our crews consisting of three men and one woman from the
station, the man who had been our regular attendant from the first,
and an old woman—these last wishing to go to Kola. The four
from the station are to the left in Plate 61. Unfortunately, natural
shyness prevented my asking the lady to raise the skirt a little to
exhibit some wonderful stockings and garters which were generally
visible. Her husband is on the right.

We landed on one island in Lake Pulozero in hopes of finding
Scoters nests, but the only two seen were Red-breasted Mergansers’
with seven and eight eggs. As there was a fair wind, we reached the
end of the lake at 3 pm. The portage to Mordozero occupied two
hours; the weather was hot and the mosquitoes beyond description.
A general desire for tea took us to land again at six (Plate 62); this
occupied more than an hour, so that it was 11 p.m. when we reached
Kitsa. Our old hut was full of women and children, and the station-
hut full of men, mosquitoes, and smells. Two of “Solovieff smoking-
candles” (Fidibus insettifughi), recommended by Governor Engelhardt,”
soon cleared off the second nuisance, but the other two were not so
easily disposed of. After another meal, and paying our four carriers
from Pulozero, we set off again at 12.45 a.m. to walk those 17 versts
to Tschongai. Fortunately some fog came on at 3 a.m. and caused
the mosquitoes to retire. Tschongai was reached at 5.40 am. The
odours of the hut had increased so since we last had a meal there

1“ A Russian Province of the North,” p. 105. These candles can be obtained at the
Army and Navy Stores.

164 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

that we made our fire in the open, and had just finished “tea” when
rain commenced, which continued all the way to Kola. Another
Eversmann’s Warbler was singing here near the hut.

Only one boat was to be found here, the other having been
borrowed by the timber-men; and as our party had now increased
to eleven, besides a dog and six loads, there was considerable doubt
for a time whether some would not have to walk or remain behind.
At last at 7.50 am. all were safely stowed on board (somewhat like
sardines in a box), and the boat proved a good sound one, for she
leaked very little with the water only two or three inches below the
top of the gunwale. That voyage down the river was not a pleasant
part of the journey; the rain poured down at times, and drizzled the
remainder. Both men and women must have been wet to the skin,
as most of them wore only their summer clothes. Musters and I
escaped, thanks to our macintoshes and leggings. This “water
picnic” ended at eleven, and we reached Kola before noon, very glad
to be back in our old comfortable quarters.

July 2nd.—A priest here had asked us to bring him some pine-
cones with seed; one of those sweet lovable old men who win you at
once, so that it was with real regret I was only able to take him a
few poor cones to-day, the only ones we had seen during the whole
of our stay in the interior. I explained that if they had been as
plentiful as mosquitoes he should have had any quantity. He was
much surprised to hear we rarely saw these insects in England, and
said we made so much smoke there it must kill them all, an aspect of
the smoke nuisance I had not heard before !

We crossed the Kola river and went up to the tarns visited on
May 26th. The young Ravens we had then seen in the nest were now
on the hill, but the Bean-Geese had gone. A small colony of Arctic
Terns had eggs and young on the island in the largest pool; on which
also was a Redshank’s nest with four eggs. Near the side of the tarn
a pair of Red-necked Phalaropes had a nest with four eggs, the only
one found this year. We found both lately hatched young and eggs

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 165

of Temminck’s Stints; also nests with eggs of Redwings and Bramb-
lings. One of the latter was a very peculiar nest; something seemed
to have proved unsatisfactory about the foundation, and the bird had
gone on adding to the nest until it was nearly a foot high; but all her
labour had been in vain for some wretched crow had sucked the eggs.
We saw several Wood-Sandpipers and Redshanks, and spent much
time over the former without result. Another male Eversmann’s
Warbler was shot in the scrub as we went up to the lakes.

July 3rd.—A few Temminck’s Stints had eggs in the old church-
yard on the island in front of Kola; and a large shingle bar near held
a pair of Oyster-catchers with young, and several pairs of Ringed
Plovers; we caught young of both. The little Oyster-catcher har-
monised particularly well with its surroundings and must have remained
more than an hour without moving.

After lunch we rowed up the Tuloma to an island about a mile
above the town. A few Terns had nested here, and like those yester-
day, had partly hatched out. We found four nests of Temminck’s
Stints with eggs (4, 4, 4, 3). The eggs in another nest had been
recently sucked by some robber, and both the Stints were busy eating
the remains! One bird carried a shell on to the beach and finished the
contents there. A Ringed Plover had four fresh eggs on the island ;
and a Red-breasted Merganser eleven, slightly incubated.

Two Scotsmen arrived to-day who had been salmon-fishing higher
up the Tuloma; but had had poor sport, as the river was too high.
They have leased the rod fishing in the river from the Lapps, and
erected huts at the best places. These rivers in Russian Lapland
have a short season, because there are no mountains behind them
with large accumulations of snow to maintain the water during the
summer as there are in Norway. Still, 617 fish had been caught with
the rod in one season some years before.

July 4th—We crossed the Kola river again to-day specially to
search for Pine-Grosbeaks, but never saw a bird. A Redwing’s nest
contained two eggs nearly hatched and three addled. These birds

166 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

are either much disturbed, or sometimes breed late in the season,
for another pair were busy building. We heard two Eversmann’s
Warblers singing to-day, and thought we had secured a nest with
five eggs, but it turned out to be a Willow-Wren’s. A small colony
of Sand-Martins were nesting in a sandbank near the Kola river; we
dug out several nests with eggs, all twelve to fifteen inches in the bank,
the eggs much incubated. Their relatives, the House-Martins, had a
number of nests on one of the houses in Kola, where the window-heads
formed a specially good foundation. As far as we noticed they were
confined to that house only.

July 5th gave little of interest to record. We took another nest
of Temminck’s Stints’ eggs near the Tuloma; and caught four young,
which moved nearly 100 yards in less than two hours, though they
were only some two days old. A pair of Buffon’s Skua had two eggs
half-incubated on high ground; they were the only birds of this
species seen in the country this season; both mobbed poor Juno
severely when she approached the nest. We spent some hours in a
last effort to find nests of the Pine-Grosbeak but only saw one bird
(with red breast) and some old nests. I shot two Mealy Redpolls, the
rumps of both of which were white and unstriated. Several of these
birds secured in May were similar. It is therefore curious that all
the birds shot in this district by Mr. Witherby should have been
typical specimens of Linota linaria. Mosquitoes that night made us
long to be out of the country, they hummed round our veils like a
hive of bees and generally made life a burden.

July 6th was chiefly occupied in packing, as we were to leave
that afternoon by the Russian mail steamer. When everything was
finished and the boxes taken down to the boat a telegram came saying
the steamer would not arrive till about midnight. Our friend Mr.
Skjerseth once more rescued us from our troubles—all the food
being packed—by taking us to his house for dinner. There we met
our two countrymen, who were returning by the same steamer, and a
very pleasant meal was that last one on Russian soil. It was nearly

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40) EN

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 167

2 a.m. when the steamer at last appeared out of the fog and rain, but
we occupied the time of waiting by going over the sawmill described
on May 17th. All the men and machinery were at work when we
arrived at I a.m.

July 7th.—Like the previous Russian steamer, there were two coats
of dirt over most things, and the sanitary arrangements left much to
be desired. I had the pleasure of meeting again the head of Saint
Triphon’s Monastery, who presented me with his portrait (reproduced
on Plate 63). A number of the monks and servants of the monastery
came to receive him when we anchored in Pechenga gulf. We landed
for an hour and walked up the Triphona river. A Wood-Sandpiper
seemed to have young in a small marsh, and both Meadow and Red-
throated Pipits were anxious about the safety of their families. We
arrived at Vardo at eleven the next morning, to find there was no
mail steamer for the south till midnight of the oth, so we devoted
most of our time to the Snow-Buntings, hoping for late nests. We
found two among the rocks at the back of the town, the first con-
taining six eggs, and the second four, all much incubated. Young
birds were on the wing.

July gth—We spent all the morning on the point beyond the
Governor's house, and found a number of birds there, Wheatears,
Mealy Redpolls, Meadow, Rock, and Red-throated Pipits, Snow-Buntings,
Shore-Larks, &&. Two Common Eiders were sitting, but most of them
had their young on the sea. Many young Snow-Buntings were flying
about the rocks, so we were fortunate in finding another nest with five
eggs not so incubated as those of yesterday.

We had heard that the S.Y. America was expected from Arch-
angel, where she had gone to complete her equipment of ponies,
dogs, and arctic stores; and saw her steam into the harbour while we
were searching for Snow-Buntings. So, as soon as dinner was over—
said to commence at 2, but rarely ready before 2.30, and extending to
3.30—we went on board, and were warmly welcomed by Captain Coftn
and Mr.Champ. The latter, Mr. Zeigler’s private secretary, I had spent

168 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND

several pleasant days with in Troms6 in1tgo01. Anything more dread-
ful than the chaos on the deck of the America I have never seen! In
the centre were thirty ponies, some of which had been to Franz Josef
Land the year before. A rough roof of boards had been erected over
them to give some slight shelter from the weather. This and the
forecastle were occupied by 240 dogs of all ages, chained up in groups.
Only one of our large dog-shows could give any idea of the pande-
monium; many were within effective fighting distance, and constantly
made use of their opportunities, several men with heavy whips being
employed in settling the little differences. Every foot of space not
occupied by horses or dogs was covered with heaps of cases piled up
in all directions till locomotion became a difficulty. I only hope
Captain Coffin enjoyed fine weather during the first part of his voyage,
and so had time to reduce things to order before encountering the ice.
Staff and crew numbered thirty-nine men, the greater part of whom
were Americans. The ship appeared to be well fitted for its work,
and for the comfort of the men. She sailed the next day, and I trust
her second attempt to reach a high northern latitude will prove more
successful than the first.

We were detained two days at Hammerfest which we spent on the
hills round the town, seeing little of interest beyond some Purple Sand-
pipers with young in down. Fourteen Ravens were congregated on
a hillside, disturbed from some feast. A few Mealy Redpoll, Red-
throated Pipits, Shore-Larks, Temminck’s Stints, Long-tailed Duck,
and Red-throated Divers formed the remainder of the bird-population,
a very scanty one.

That voyage down the Norwegian coast is rather a weary time
after its novelty is gone, and one is anxious to reach home. Fourteen
days were occupied in travelling from Kola to Hull, enough to go to
New York and back! Still we were favoured with fine weather the
whole way, especially on the North Sea, and reached Hull in the
SS. Hidorada early on July 20th.

And now a last word respecting the birds recorded in the pre-

BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 169

ceding pages, or in Appendix I. Of the 182 species only 16 are not
on the British list; while of those on our list, 22 certainly breed in
Russian Lapland that have never been known to do so in Great
Britain (besides others still doubtful). It is the last fact which con-
stitutes the great interest of these northern countries for the British
ornithologist. Norway is now closed to those who wish to study birds
in their breeding haunts and obtain specimens of eggs of British species,
only breeding in the north, for their collections. Licences to take eggs
are only granted by the Government to Norwegians! I understand
it is probable the hotel proprietors on the Dovrefjeld will shortly have
notice that they must refuse to allow all persons to remain in their
hotels whom they have reason to think are collecting birds, eggs, or
plants. But Russia is still open, and the genuine ornithologist who
collects from scientific interest and not for trade purposes receives every
assistance from the authorities. I can only conclude with grateful
thanks for the many kindnesses experienced from all officials especially
from the Governor of the Province.

CHAPTER IV
SAINT 'TRIPHON’S MONASTERY

HE following chapter contains a translation of a small book
;% given to me by the Archimandrite Jonathan, on the history of
St. Triphon, and the monastery St. Triphon erected by the
Pechenga river, prepared for distribution among the numerous pilgrims
who now visit the monastery every year, specially during the winter
months. I have omitted the accounts of numerous miracles performed
since St. Triphon’s death.

When first visiting the Pechenga gulf, it was rather irritating to
be constantly met by the statement that everything belonged to the
monks, for most Englishmen have an ingrained objection to the
monopoly of the good things of this life by the religious orders; but
even during my short visit I saw cause to view the matter in a different
light. In many respects these people correspond more nearly with
the English of the twelfth century than with those of the present day ;
and the monks are now doing the same good work of education and
civilisation that our English monks did in the early days of their
establishment among us. With the very imperfect means of inter-
pretation available I could obtain little reliable information about the
people beyond what I saw; but certain facts were obvious in the
Pechenga valley. No one begged, none looked hungry, all had suffi-
cient clothes to keep them warm, and many boys could read Russian.
There was also a general air of comfort about the villages in the valley
and their inhabitants, equal to that of our agricultural villages in all
respects, except as regards the roads and the surroundings of the
houses. The interiors of all the houses we saw were clean “ homes,”
not “cattle sheds” like Ivan’s fishing huts.

170

PLATE 63.

THE ARCHIMANDRITE JONATHAN.

ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY.

ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY 170

In the general view of the monastery buildings (Plate 64, taken
from the top of an old moraine), the church is on the left at A
(Plate 65), and the residence of the monks is at B, a nearer view of
which is given in Plate 66. I understood our guide to say that the
lower part of the latter building on the left had been built long before
the restoration of the monastery; and was the home of the monks in
charge of the old church here. Partly hidden by the trees, and just to
the right of the main building, is the guest-house C, where we were enter-
tained; a comfortable and clean structure, in the charge of a wee
little monk who presided over our meals with a kind “ womanly”
attention that was charming. D is another house for entertaining
larger bodies of pilgrims, and has only recently been erected. Refer-
ence to Plate 67 will show how beautifully all the logs in its walls
have been reduced to an even diameter, and look as if they had been
turned in a lathe. The Russians are wonderfully expert with the
axe. The large building in the distance behind D is the cow-house ;
and in another building near it are all necessary appliances for
steaming and preparing their food. The hill E is surmounted by a
large cross, and is called Mount Calvary.

Plate 68 represents the church recently erected over the ashes of
the 116 martyrs murdered by the Swedes in 1590. Behind it stands
a much older church—apparently 150 to 200 years old; and again
to the left is a new monastery, to which it is proposed to transfer
many of the monks. The small house on the extreme right is the
home of two or three aged monks. These buildings occupy the site
of the original monastery erected by St. Triphon; and it is difficult
to understand why the new monastery was not also placed here in
1886; for, apart from its old associations, it is so much more accessible
from the sea, by which route all supplies must come.

If the tradition related on page 181 dates from the time when
the events occurred, it appears worthy to rank with the Scandinavian
Saga.

72 ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY

NARRATIVE

Or THE Hoty TrRIPHON, THE MIRACLE WORKER OF PECHENGA AND
ENLIGHTENER OF THE LAPLANDERS; AND OF THE MONASTERY
FOUNDED BY Him.

(‘‘ The Holy” is inserted in all cases before *‘ Triphon” but has been
generally omitted in this translation.)

“The Lord will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy i. 4); for all people did His
priceless blood flow; and thus for every man, whoever he may be,
He opens His arms to embrace him in His divine love. Both the
learned man and the unlettered and ignorant, the wealthy lord and
the lowest beggar, the half-wild inhabitant of the torrid wastes of
Arabia, the enlightened Greek, and the wretched nomadic wanderer of
the Northern Plains and swamps of Siberia,—all find an entry to the
Kingdom of Heaven, to all is announced the Gospel of Christ, all are
summoned to Salvation. None are forgotten by the Heavenly Father ;
and when the fitting time arrives, He sends His chosen messengers to
carry the word of Salvation to those sitting in darkness and in the
shadow of Death.

Such a chosen vessel for the poor inhabitants of our distant
northern parts—the Laplanders, was our Sainted Father Triphon
the Miracle Worker of Pechenga.

The Holy Triphon, known by the worldly name of Mitrophanes,
lived during the reign of Czar Ivan Vassilievich the Terrible; and
was the son of a priest in the town of Torzhka in the district of
Novgorod. Brought up in the love of God, he from his infancy loved
the temple of the Lord where he used to sing and read, and at times
he was wont to hide himself from the sight of man so as to ofter
up in retirement his prayers to the Lord. Upon one occasion in his

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ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY 173

seclusion he heard a voice: “This is not your place; an uninhabited
and thirsting region is awaiting you”; and obeying this mysterious
summons he left his father’s roof and wandered forth to the far North,
finally reaching the shores of the Arctic Ocean, at Kola Prissoud, on
the river Pechenga in the country of the Laplanders."*

Under the guise of trading he became acquainted with the Lap-
landers, and afterwards talked to them about the Gospel. Apostolic
labours of the heaviest description awaited this preacher of the Gospel
of Christ in the midst of rough idolaters—without any means of
defence against the wickedness of those heathens. The Laplanders
not only worshipped evil spirits, but even reptiles and bats; and
bowed down before stones. Triphon living in their vicinity and
watching their coarse superstitions, deeply bemoaned the errings of
these people; and his soul kindled with greater zeal than ever to
lead them to Christ. He began by telling them of the only True
God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the only Father and Saviour
of all people. The habitations of the Laplanders were scattered
over swampy districts at great distances from each other; the country
which the Holy Triphon had chosen for his apostolic labours extended
over about 500 versts in length and nearly as many in width. Blind
in their ignorance, the people were very slow at first to accept the
lofty teachings of Christianity. Triphon had to battle hard with the
superstitions and ancient delusions of the idolaters; and he met with
the greatest opposition from the seers, or idolatrous priests, for whom
idolatry constituted a profitable profession. They were ready to tear
the new teacher of the Truth to pieces; more than once they beat
him cruelly, pulled him by his hair, and in many ways insulted him.
But the Lord watched over His servant. The follower of Christ
meekly suffered blows and insults; and when their malice became
too furious, he went away to the hills, and after a time reappeared to
preach the Gospel. But evidently even the savage has a conscience
and a desire to learn the truth; amongst the Laplanders there were

1 “Troitzky Papers,” No. 764.

174 ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY

those who were moved by the patience and mildness of the preacher,
and by his self-denying love to them notwithstanding their persecutions.
Thus it happened that when he reappeared amongst them, and some
would savagely cry out: “Let us kill him,” others would gently say,
“He has done us no harm, on the contrary, he wishes us well; there-
fore why should we kill him?” And the number of these latter
gradually increased. After preaching for twenty years on the banks
of the rivers Pechenga, Tuloma, and Pazreka, Triphon had already
imparted the Evangelical Gospel to many; and numbers of Lap-
landers believed in the Lord Jesus. But at that time he was a
layman, and dared not himself baptize the Laplanders; and there
was not one ordained priest in the whole of that district. This
induced the Holy Triphon to journey to Nizhni Novgorod, where he
asked and obtained from Archbishop Macarius an edict for building a
church. He brought carpenters with him; and carried on his own
shoulders, from a spot over three versts distant, logs of timber to build
the Lord’s House with. Working in this manner during the day, he
devoted his nights to prayer; and meanwhile continued to strengthen
his converts in their faith. This church, built in the name of the
Holy Everlasting Trinity, remained for three years without being
consecrated, because there was no priest. Triphon went to Kola, the
only Russian colony; and there as if under heavenly guidance he met
Elias, a regular priest; and persuaded him to accompany him to the
river Pechenga. The ardent wishes of Triphon were fulfilled; his
church was consecrated; the Laplanders whom he had converted,
were baptized; and he himself, being already a veritable monk in his
innermost soul and according to his whole apostolic activity, now
entered the monastery. This was approximately in the year 1532.
Having become a monk, Triphon commenced building the mona-
stery; and when it was completed men began to gather round the
holy Father, who were seeking solitude and wished to renounce the
world for the sake of serving God. Meanwhile Triphon most zealously
continued his labours of spreading the Gospel amongst the savage Lap-

ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY 175

landers. Bravely he travelled across the tundras and hills, wandering
from one hut to another, often sinking in the swamps and quagmires,
suffering from those terrible northern frosts, and patiently bearing
every insult for the sake of the Lord. And God blessed his work; he
found those amongst the Laplanders who wished to devote them-
selves to the service of the Lord; and others brought what they
could to the new monastery; they gave money or land, lakes or other
property.

But scarcely had this community of monks been established around
the lovely church when a terrible famine visited these distant parts of
the North; severe frosts had killed the crops during several years,
and a great want of corn arose. Triphon now entered upon a new
field of action, a most difficult undertaking; he became the provider
of bodily food to those who had entrusted to him their souls.
Accompanied by some of the brotherhood, he wandered in great
humility through the vast district of Novgorod, journeying from town
to town, from village to village, begging for alms; and sending home
all he gathered to sustain his brotherhood and his newly converted
Laplanders. In this manner he passed eight years, going even as far
as Moscow. There he delivered a petition from the monastery to the
Tsar, while the Tsar and the Tsarevich Theodore were on their way
to church. The kind-hearted Tsarevich came out of the church
into the chantry as if by accident; and taking off his outer garment,
sent it to Triphon with the following message: “ The Tsarevich wishes
that his alms should be the forerunner of those of the Tsar; let the
Holy Triphon use this garment for church attire.” The Tsar also
gave Triphon church ornaments and other presents.

Returning to the monastery, Triphon brought joy and comfort.
The monks were now provided with fishing grounds and lands.
Triphon handed the Tsar’s decree for the usage of these fisheries and
lands, and also the alms collected from Christ-loving people, to his

1 That remarkable decree of the 1st November 1556 reads as follows: ‘‘ At the entreaties
of our children Johan and Theodore, we have conferred upon our Imperial Man of Prayer,

176 ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY

cellarer, entered the names of the benefactors in the Obituary, so as
to be mentioned in their prayers; and then resumed his ordinary
work like the lowest lay brother. With the alms collected in Moscow
he built a separate church for those who were newly baptized in the
name of Sts. Boris and Glieb near the river Pazreka.’

Such was the humility of the holy Triphon that, having obtained
the charter from the Tsar, he wished that his name should not be
mentioned in connection with the monastery he founded.

Even in his old age he did not cease to work. On one occasion
he bought in Kola a manual grindstone for corn, and carried it to the
monastery on his shoulders, a distance of 158 versts. It was in vain
that his pupils begged him not to labour under such a load:
“ Brethren,” he said, “a heavy burden rests on the sons of.Adam;
how can they turn to mirth? No, Triphon, it were better for
you to hang a millstone round your neck ,than to lead astray the
brotherhood.”

One day a bear entered his cell, overturned the kneading trough
and began eating the dough, when Triphon entered and said: “ My
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, commands you to leave this cell and
to stand still.’ The bear went outside, and stood at the feet of the

from the Arctic Ocean on the Murman borders, Abbot Gouri and the brotherhood of the
Pechenga Monastery of the Most Holy and Eternal Trinity, or whoever may in said
Monastery hereafter be Abbot or Brothers, instead of prestimony, and in place of dues for
masses and thanksgiving prayers, for their use and maintenance, in patrimony; the
Matotsky, Ilitzky, and Oursk bays, and the Pechenga, Pozransk, and Nordinsk bays, with
all their fisheries and all that the sea may throw up, whether it be a whale or a seahorse, or
any other animal ; and all their seashores and islands and rivers and rivulets, their upper
reaches and marshes and hilly plains and fields, forests and wooded ‘lakes and hunting
grounds, and those Laplanders in the Matotsky and Pechenga bays which now are or in
future may be our vassals, with all meadow-lands and money taxes due to us, the Tsar and
Grand Duke; and with all dues and volost-tithes, for their sustenance and to build the
Monastery ; and our Novgorod and Dvina boyars, and the Chancellor’s officers of the
Volost of the Mouth of the Kola, and all people on the seashores, and the Korelsky
Children, and the Laplanders or any one else must not take possession of this patrimony.”
1 This church, renovated, stands to this day as a sentinel of the Orthodox Faith on the
frontier of Norway. On the 23rd July 1870 this church was visited by His Imperial
Highness the Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovich ; and later, on the 23rd June 1873, by the
King of Sweden and Norway, Oscar II. ; and finally, on the 2nd July 1887, by the heir-
apparent to the throne of Sweden and Norway, Gustav Adolph, and his consort, Victoria.

SO) GREG |

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Holy Man. Thereupon the Saint chastised the culprit, warned him
never again to disturb the monastery, and dismissed him. And
henceforth no bear ever harmed the reindeer, or any other living
being of the monastery.

In his latter years the Holy Man frequently went away to his
hermitage, where he built a church in honour and memory of the
Assumption of the Holy Virgin, and passed his days in prayer. He
also ordained that he should be buried in this hermitage.

In this manner, performing many noble actions and doing much
work, he reached a venerable age; and after living for seventy years in
this most desolate of wildernesses, as related by the local contempo-
rary ecclesiastical historians, he at last fell dangerously ill. To the
Holy Triphon came Abbot Gouri and the brothers who had been
his pupils; and seeing him so seriously ill, they bemoaned deeply
that they should be bereft of such a noble teacher, and be left
orphans.

“Do not grieve brethren,” said the Holy Man, “and do not
interrupt the even flow of my tide. Put all your trust in the Lord,
because if the Lord my God Jesus did not abandon me, then so much
the less will He desert you, who are gathered together in His holy
Name. But I commend you with all your heart and the whole of
your soul to love God glorified in the Holy Trinity, and to love one
another; my children, preserve your brotherhood in continence and
honesty, and keep away from the love of power. You have known
me for many years; and you have seen with your own eyes that my
hands have worked not only for my own, but also for your needs; and
that I was a lay brother to allof you. I entreat you, do not grieve when
I have departed this life, because such is the lot of every man; and
even if the body goes to dust, yet the soul rises to Heaven. Struggle
onward to where death is not, where shines eternal light, and one day
is more than a thousand; and love not the cursed world, false and
troubled like the sea, and frothy with sinful waves. But when my

soul has left this body, I enjoin you to bury me by the Church of the
M

178 ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY

Assumption of the Holy Virgin in the hermitage, where I often used
to go to turn my thoughts to God in silence.”

Having uttered these words Triphon raised himself from his poor
mat of rushes; and sat up so as to partake of the Blessed Body and
Holy Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ; and then he broke down
and suddenly burst into tears. The Abbot asked him: “ Holy
Father, you forbid us to grieve for you because you joyfully go to
your Lord Jesus; tell us then why do you shed tears?” And the
Holy Man replied: “A heavy trial awaits this monastery, and many
will suffer martyrdom from the edge of the sword; but do not my
brethren become feeble in your trust in God; He will not leave the
rod of the sinners to their own fate, because He is powerful, and He
will once more build up His monastery.” Then he laid down again
upon his mat and his face became serene; and as he was dying a
smile passed over his features, and then he gave up his soul to the
Lord. He was ninety-eight years old, and the date of his death was
the 15th December 1583. His saintly remains were interred where
he had wished, in the hermitage by the Church of the Assumption
of the Holy Virgin.

The Holy Triphon was of low stature, bent, and somewhat bald-
headed, but wore a long grey beard.

Seven years after the death of the Holy Man, Tsar Theodore
Joannovich besieged Narva. The besieged Germans directed their
guns at dawn towards the tent of the Tsar, wherein the Tsar was
still lying asleep. And there appeared to him in his sleep a noble
aged man in the garments of a monk, who said: “Arise Sire, leave
the tent so that you shall escape death.” “Who are you?” “I am
the same Triphon to whom you gave your mantle, so that your
benevolence should outstrip the others. The Lord my God sent me
unto you.” The Tsar awoke and had scarcely left the tent, when a
cannon-ball from the town struck the Tsar’s bed. The pious monarch
was deeply moved by this act of God’s mercy, and sent a messenger
to the Pechenga Monastery to find Triphon; but the reply came that

ST, TRIPHON’S MONASTERY 179

he had died seven years ago; and the Tsar thereupon conferred many
benevolent favours upon the monastery.

After the death of Triphon, the fate of the Pechenga Monastery,
which he had founded, became a very sad one. His prophetic saying
that many of the brethren would suffer by the sword, was literally
fulfilled in seven years. In 1590, a week before Christmas, a band
of Swedes burnt the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin,
where the bones of Triphon rested in a secluded spot. They also
tortured to death hieromonk Jonas, and the monk Herman, and then
they hid themselves in ambush." On Christmas Day they broke into
the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, and with brutal cruelty they
began putting to death the monks and laymen, who were celebrating
the Holy Liturgy in the church; some they cut in two crosswise,
others they cleaved in half lengthwise, and of others they cut off
their arms and legs. Abbot Gouri and other hieromonks they
tortured in various ways; they pierced them with their weapons,
or roasted them over the fire to extort from them where the riches
of the monastery were hidden; but the sufferers underwent all these
tortures in silence, and the infuriated Swedes at last hewed them to
pieces. Having secured all the plunder they could, they set fire to
the church and all the buildings of the monastery. In all, fifty-one
monks and sixty-five laymen and workmen perished; only those
survived who were absent in the service of the monastery. On their
return they buried the murdered victims with all honours.

The remains of the martyrs now rest in one grave, close to
the spot where once stood the Trinity Church and the old
monastery.

There are also records of this sanguinary event in Norway. Our
Russian Consul, D. N. Ostrovsky, discovered in the Norwegian State
Archives an ancient Danish document concerning the destruction

1 According to tradition the Swedes dared not for a whole week approach the
monastery, because they thought that the ramparts of the monastery were occupied by
a large number of armed warriors.

180 ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY

of the Pechenga Monastery in 1589.’ This document, written in
the ancient Norwegian language, is in the shape of a booklet in
quarto; and contains a list of the victims who perished during the
devastation carried into the North of Russia by the Swedes. On the
fourth page of this document is a list of the brethren massacred by
the Swedes. At the head of it appears the name of Abbot Gouri and
three hieromonks, Pachomius, Joseph, and Jonas. The fourth and
fifth pages are occupied by names of the remaining brethren who
were killed. On page six begins the list of labourers who were
in the monastery, and probably of pilgrims; of these fifty-one names
are entered. Page seven concludes with the following note :—

“All of them were burnt by the Swedes simultaneously with the
monastery. And they also destroyed by fire all buildings, the church,
most of the property, the cattle-shed, and the mill. They also burnt
a settlement called Vikin, which was the harbour of the monastery,
with all the boats and other vessels; and any boats that remained
they hewed to pieces. In this manner not a building of the
monastery remained excepting the bath-house which stood a little
way oft, and two earthen huts on two islets which the Swedes were
unable to reach.—Vardoehuus the 7th August 1590.”

In all probability this document was a report sent by the
Governor at the time from Vard6 to the Danish nobleman N.,
Commandant of the Castle from 1587 to 1596. In 1851 this
document was returned to Norway at the time when all matters
of the Danish Secretary's Archives were transferred to the Norwegian
State Archives.

The destruction of the Pechenga Monastery occurred in the reign
of Theodore Joannovich during his war against the Swedes. On
hearing the news, the pious Tsar was deeply moved; and gave orders
that, for the sake of greater security, the monastery should be trans-

1 According to Russian sources, this destruction occurred in 1590, but according to the
Danish document in 1589. The difference is explained by the fact that in Russia, until
the time of Peter I., the New Year began on the Ist September, and not on the Ist January
as in Western Europe.

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Sly LRIPHON'S MONASTERY 181

ferred to Kola within the palisades, and attached to the Church of
the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin. After the destruction by fire
of the town of Kola and the monastery, a new one was built in the
reign of Michael Theodorovich in 1619 near Kola, on the banks of
the river of the same name; and at a later date it was named the
new Kola Monastery by ukas of the Emperor Peter I.; in 1701 the
monastery was attached to the prelacy; and finally in 1764, during
the reign of the Empress Katherina IT., it was merged into the Kola
Cathedral; and thus ended its existence.

There exists the following most interesting tradition regarding
the wicked murder of the brotherhood, among the Laplanders on the
coast. “It was Christmas tide; the sun had seemingly gone down
earlier than usual this year (1590), and the state of the air increased
the darkness of the heaven. A mist was continually hovering over
the earth, and the fog was so dense that at five paces distance you
could not see the light in a Laplander’s tent. The evil spirit was
abroad in the land which had been forsaken by the light of God;
and he led people into every wickedness, and aided them in their
evil deeds. On the seashore, a day’s journey from Pechenga, a nom-
adic Laplander, owner of a herd of reindeer, pitched his tent. They
called him Ivan, as he had been baptized by Triphon himself; but
he became a Christian merely because he expected presents; and as
he received none, he was filled with spite against the Holy Triphon
and against God Himself; and resumed his heathenish life. And
God had visibly forsaken him. That year the frost had hardened
the snow, and his reindeer were dying daily from want of food; so his
herd melted away like ice melts in the sun at summer time. Ivan
became furious with anger, and tried to think of some way to make
good his losses. Long and deep were his thoughts; and at last he
harnessed his sledge and drove into Norway to a place where he
knew that pirates lived during the winter. He proposed to lead
them to the Pechenga Monastery that they might plunder it, and
great were the rejoicings of the robbers. They had had their eye on

182 ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY

the monastery for a long time, but were afraid to do the deed; and
did not know their way to it. Their chieftain promised Ivan fifty
silver coins in Swedish money, and also gave him twenty in advance;
the robbers armed themselves, harnessed a whole train of sledges, and
started off. They reached the Pechenga on Christmas Day. About
a couple of hours before their arrival, fifty-one members of the
brotherhood and sixty-five lay brothers had sat down at their tables
in the dining-hall after mass; and the Father Superior, before blessing
the victuals, took up the Holy Book, and had just opened it to read
the lesson where he had left his bookmark, when he paled, began to
reel and fell to the ground. The brethren thought that he had
fainted through fasting, and one of them hurried to raise him from
the ground. The brother commenced to read in his stead, when
with a shriek, he covered his face in terror. All rose and saw with
horror that, where the Father Superior’s bookmark was, letters written
with blood gave a list of those who had been recently murdered; and
then followed a list of their names beginning with that of the Father
Superior. All was confusion and weeping, but the Father Superior
firmly ordered all to go into the church; and there, with the whole
brotherhood, he knelt before the holy images. Meanwhile the robbers
had approached ; and while some tried to force the doors of the Holy
Temple, others surrounded the wooden monastery and set fire to it
on all sides. One of the monks was a powerful giant who had been
a warrior; and seeing through the windows only fifty robbers, he
begged the Father Superior to bless him and others of the youngest
and strongest monks, so that they might defend the monastery with
their axes and crowbars. But the Father Superior replied: ‘ No, it
is the will of God, as foretold by the Holy Triphon, although he said
not when; and therefore we must not go against His will, but must
without murmur prepare to win the crown of martyrdom. After
these words the brotherhood calmed down and became silent. They
fell down before the altar in fervent prayer, and at that moment
the robbers rushed in; but not one of the monks moved or answered

ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY 183

their inquiries regarding the riches and valuables of the monastery.
The robbers became infuriated, and all the monks suffered a martyr’s
death, without even raising their heads, and with prayers still linger-
ing on their lips. Having killed them all, the robbers rushed off to
search for booty, to rob the church plate; and to plunder the monas-
tery; but they found very little, because the monks, leading a frugal
and pious life, never troubled to amass worldly riches. Meanwhile
the fire was engulfing the whole of the monastery; and the robbers
ascended a rock near, where they divided the spoil. A sacred cup of
silver fell to the share of Ivan, who hid it under his garment, tremb-
ling with greed.

“Standing on the rock, the robbers were waiting for the moment
when the church would be caught by the flames; but although the fire
was raging all round, it did not touch the wooden church. Suddenly
in the sky, above the flaming monastery appeared three snow-white
swans. The robbers were perplexed, and asked each other wonder-
ingly: ‘Whence come these swans? It is winter now, and they never
were here in winter before. Meanwhile the swans, without leaving
the spot over the fire, soared higher and higher in the air; and then
suddenly dissolved into a golden circle, shining brighter than the
fire. Then fluttered upwards out of the fire one after another 116
birds white as snow, of the size of a sea-gull; and they, rising high up,
in their turn dissolved in the golden ring, which widened and shone
so brilliantly as to dazzle the eyes. ‘See what a grievous sin we
have committed in spilling righteous blood!’ exclaimed the chieftain
awe-stricken; and, with their guide, they rushed down the hill to
their sledges, and wildly started their reindeer. On and on they
drove, quite exhausting their reindeer; and towards the morning they
were crossing into Norway. Ivan, distrusting the pirates, and in fear
of their robbing him, was being carried some fifty paces ahead by a
powerful bull reindeer; and behind him followed the train of sledges
with the robbers and their plunder. Suddenly at the steepest spot
the hindmost reindeer stumbled; and with the sledge and its driver,

184 ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY

bounded over the edge down into the abyss, dragging with them the
other sledges and inmates, fastened to each other by straps; desperate
shrieks of terror for a moment filled the air; and with a hellish
laughter the evil fiend answered from the depths of the abyss, mocked
by the echoes of the hills in loud and endless repetition. Shuddering,
Ivan looked back and saw that all the robbers had disappeared; he
turned his reindeer and rushed back; but the animal was mad with
terror, its hair stood on end; it pressed its horns flat on its back, and,
disregarding its master’s lead, jumped aside, and losing its footing on
the same spot, bounded into space. Endless seemed the flight
through air, until at last Ivan fell on something soft. The north
light was shining in the sky; and by it he saw that he was lying on
a heap of his crushed and blood-stained companions; beneath him
they moved their hands and feet, lifting their heads and begging for
help; and all around was a herd of wolves tearing their living flesh
and greedily drinking their life-blood. In their greed the nearest
wolves threw themselves upon Ivan’s still living reindeer. With the
strength of maddening desperation he unsheathed his knife, and
striking back the attacking wolves, he rushed headlong through the
gorge. Far did he run, and at last he reached the tundra; around
was the forest, and in the middle a glade with a copious spring
rising high, and pouring broadly from the earth’s depths. Ivan
rejoiced, and parched with thirst he drew forth the monastery’s
silver cup, filled it with water, and greedily carried it to his lips; but
the water was warm and red; he tasted it—it was blood!!! Terrified,
he threw the cup into the pool of the spring; but it would not sink,
floated upright on the water, and shone like fire; and inside the cup
the blood was shining like rubies. His hair stood on end, his eyes
protruded from his head; the traitorous Judas tried to make the
sign of the Cross, but his arm would not move, and hung down
like a lash. Then a column of water rose up from the pool and
carefully carried the cup up towards heaven; like a sun the sacred
cup was shining on high; all around it suddenly changed to a bright

ee = —— ST

"IZI HOV

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ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY 185

summer's day, and the Lord Himself stretched forth His right hand
and took the cup to His holy bosom. Once more all was darkness,
and as suddenly had turned to black night; with a roar the column
of water, which had reached to Heaven, rushed down, seized the
half-dead Ivan, and in its whirlpool dragged him down to abysmal
depths.

“To this day, they say, in Norway somewhere beyond the Varanger
fjord there is a bottomless lake, the water of which even now is of a
reddish colour. No living being— man or reindeer — drinks this
reddish water; and from the middle of the lake a large yellowish
stone rises up, shaped like a cup. No fish live in its waters, and no
birds live on the lake; it does not freeze in the winter, but once a
year, on Christmas day, three swans white as snow fly to it, and,
swimming across its waters, sit on the stone; then they rise aloft and
disappear from view.” ?

The pious reader of this narrative will ask: What has now become
of the scenes of Triphon’s deeds? The prophecy of the Holy Man has
been fulfilled with literal exactitude: the Lord did not leave the rod
of the wicked to their fate. He showed his creative power in their
feebleness. The Pechenga Monastery was restored.

In 1824 and 1867 efforts were made by the Solovetzky monks to
settle on the ashes of the burnt monastery of Pechenga near the tomb
of the 116 martyrs, but they were not crowned with success—it was
evident that the time had not then arrived which the Almighty in His
wisdom had appointed for building it up. On the contrary, since
1869, emigrants from the seashore began to settle on the ashes of
the old monastery; and having settled there, became full owners of
the land. In 1878 the wish arose amongst the admirers of Triphon
to rebuild the Pechenga Monastery. On the 15th December, 1883,
the 300th anniversary of the death of Triphon was solemnly celebrated
throughout the entire government of Archangel; and since then the
desire to build up the Pechenga Monastery has become more strongly

1 “Tn the Arctic Ocean: Voyage to the North” (1895), E. Loov.

186 ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY

developed. The Holy Synod, after investigating the matter in 1886, —
charged the Solovetzky Monastery with the restoration of the Pechenga
Monastery.

A small band of Solovetzky monks, numbering eleven men, obedi-
ently following this call, set out with the blessings and prayers of
their own monastery; and supplied with all ecclesiastical necessaries,
books, tools, and means of living, they arrived on the 16th July 1886,
at their destination in the “desolate wilderness,” as the ancient his-
torian terms Lapland.

It was decided to build the monastery on the spot where the
Holy Triphon died, and where the hermitage of the Assumption of
the Holy Virgin once stood. The Solovetzky brotherhood on their
arrival here, found the ancient church of the Purification of the Holy
Virgin, a clerical house of the same date, and two Laplanders’ huts.
In October of the same year they laid the foundation for a building
containing ten cells. In July 1887 all the brotherhood were already
installed in their new buildings. The dilapidated wooden church,
built in 1707 and containing only one altar and no stove or ceiling,
was repaired as far as possible before other buildings were started.
That church with difficulty could hold forty people.

And yet only ten years after the restoration of the Monastery of
St. Triphon was begun—on the 16th July 1896, the wilderness had
become a flourishing spot.

A new large and spacious church has been built of timber, with
three altars, decorated inside with much care, and richly provided
with all church utensils and a sacristy. A parish-church school,
supported by monastery funds, has been opened, where twenty boys
are taught ; workshops are established for carpentering, carving, gild-
ing, for locksmiths, fishing-net makers, and joimers—just like in a
monastery of old standing; nineteen dwelling-houses and sixteen
other buildings have been erected; a large farmyard is established ;
the land has been cleared for meadows yielding 5000 poods of hay,
gardening has been introduced ; a good road to the sea has been

ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY 187

made — 25 versts long; swamps have been dried and the land
levelled.

In addition to this work and their devotional exercises, the monks
of the re-established Pechenga Monastery have also to continue the
missionary work of the Holy Triphon in our Northern Province. It
is to be the bulwark of the Orthodox Faith against any possible in-
vasion of the teachings of another faith into Russian territory from the
direction of the Norwegian frontier.

The Monastery of St. Triphon already exercises a beneficent in-
fluence upon the dwellers in the vast desolate country of the far
North—the nomadic Laplanders ; it will be to them the same shining
torch as it was during the lifetime of its founder, in whose sanctity
they firmly believe. Even now they, like the inhabitants of the
colonies and the citizens of the town of Kola, frequently and fervently
visit the monastery; but more especially on those days when the
memory of St. Triphon is celebrated, and when about 500 congregate
and stay in the monastery some three days. Undeniably it has a bene-
ficial influence upon these inhabitants of the tundras, these children of
nature, impressionable as they naturally are, when on entering the
church they see its beautiful decorations, the lighted lamps, the
assembly of priests in their brilliant vestments, and hear the har-
monious singing and clear reading. All this engenders in their
breasts an unspeakable joy, and leaves pleasant memories in their
minds. The hearty welcome tendered to the pious Laplanders, the
comfortable accommodation and abundant meals provided for them
during these three days, the distribution of pictures representing the
monastery, of small crosses and holy images and pamphlets, all tend
towards attracting them to the monastery. They take a great
delight in telling their families and neighbours all they have seen.
But what is better than all—they carry away with them a firm and
deep belief; and the knowledge that they are the children of the One
great and holy orthodox Church; and that they also are sons of the
great and powerful Empire of Russia.

st ~<a

188 ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY

On the spot of the ancient monastery, close to the tomb of the
116 martyrs, the foundation is laid of the new church; and the
colonists who had settled there are being transferred at the expense
of the monastery to another place. It is also proposed, and already
decreed by the Holy Synod, to erect a monastery here sixteen versts
nearer the sea; and where the monastery now stands will be the
hermitage. In this manner a fresh field opens for the labours of the
monks, and for the benevolence of the pious.

The number of constant inhabitants of the monastery now reaches
120.

Evidently now and henceforth, as formerly, and at all times, be-
ginning from the ages when the orthodox faith was first planted in
Holy Russia, the wilderness attracts with irresistible force pious souls
seeking salvation and saint-like life. And this is only too natural; to
man, overwhelmed by life's afflictions and reverses, ensnared in the
meshes of worldly temptations and allurements, buffeted by sinful
thoughts, desires, and passions ; to the sinner, weak, and sorrowful in
mind, longing to be at peace with his own conscience and to find
mercy with the heavenly Judge, to him the wilderness is a peaceful
welcome harbour, where according to the words of the Psalmist, men
go in the hope of God to escape from faint-heartedness and tempest (Psalm
lny.'8; 6):

That is the reason why monasteries in lonely situations have been
famous more than others for the severity of their monastic life, for
the harmonious beauty of their church service and ritual, and for
their frequent and lengthy prayers for the living and masses for
the dead.

At the end of our narrative, let us conclude with the words of the
acathistus to the Holy Triphon : “ Be joyful, child of honoured parents,
dearly beloved of God; be joyful that called from above you wandered
to the shores of the Ocean; be joyful that there you carried the light
of God’s love to the Lapland people, dispersing the cold and darkness

*OO-9-9I

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‘IZI ADV

AYSALSVNOW 1SYl3 430 3LIS NO SSAHOHYNHO OML

"99 ALVIg

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ST. TRIPHON’S MONASTERY 189

of the soul. Your monastery, even though according to your mind it
was destroyed, became more famous through the sufferings of the
brethren, and again arose. And even if once more it disappeared, it has
now again revived with better strength. Be joyful Triphon, en-
lightener of the Northern Lands, Worker of Miracles of Pechenga !”

The memory of the Holy Triphon is celebrated on the 15th
December and ist February.

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192

193

APPENDIX I

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195

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eULIseeg °

68

‘18

‘08

197

APPENDIX I

‘SJOTAYSIP
ROY pue UeUAINyY “Ah
UL paiq savy 0} preg
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UI 4svoo UO pep1090z7

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UI 4svod UO pap1000z]

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UL pelq dAey 0} pres

APPENDIX I

"SJOLTY
“SIp ULOTNT, pur "MN

UI peiq sAey 0} preg

“SyIVW9Iy

198

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199

APPENDIX I

‘JoN{8tp MN
UL poalq sAey 0} preg

"JSVOO URUTINL “AA
uo Sutids ut pap1000y

"T 19qUIM ‘T WuINnyne
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UL 4Sv00 oY} JO pap109eyy
JOIT{STP “MN

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APPENDIX I

*syIBVOlEy

200

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e[nsuluag ULUey

oL

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201

APPENDIX I

‘ysvoo WRULIN]Y “AV

UO UUININV UL pap10d09yy
REED ANI

UL plOdeI aJIUYepuUl UV

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pue ‘uunjne ‘Sutids
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APE END TX Et

FOOD AND EQUIPMENT

Many friends having complained that no information is to be found in
‘¢ Beyond Petsora Eastward” on the subject of stores and other necessaries, I
propose to give a list of the things taken with us in 1go1.

Individual tastes vary so much that the list of food will only be a guide as to
quantities generally. Many of the items were doubtless unnecessary luxuries ;
but as much of our time was spent on the steamer we were not obliged to limit
the weight of stores as we should have been for an overland journey; and I
am sure that a good variety of food conduces to health,

LIST OF FOOD, ETC., USED BY TWO PERSONS IN
SEVEN WEEKS.

3 Salmon (bought from the nativesat | 1 Tin pressed beef.

Lutni). 12 ,, Oxford sausages.
5 Plum puddings. 9 ,, lobster (Lazenby’s flat tins
14 Boxes of potatoes (from the Canary with blue label).®
Islands).! 5 ,, sardines.
4 Bag of onions. Ir ,, potted beef, game, dc.
2 Irish hams = 234 lbs. (Moir’s).4
Bacon 15% lbs. | 34 5, (1 Ib.) soups, thick ox-tail,
21 Glasses of mutton cutlets, roast mock turtle, &.°
fowl, beef, &c.? 16 ,, (1lb.) vegetable soups, vari-
5 Tins camp pie. ous.®

1 Potatoes must be thoroughly ripe to travel well through the summer.

2 The most satisfactory form of preserved meat I have yet met with. On an expedition
where all food is tinned, meat is the most difficult problem.

3 Good tinned lobster is a very sustaining food.

4 Useful for lunch on biscuits.

5 Nothing equals a basin of good soup after a long tramp over bogs and tundra. A
1 Ib. tin will make enough for three persons. Add water in proportion. All these
soups should be boiled about five minutes.

6 Improved by two teaspoonsful of taureau.
202

www Bn MN BP BR NY NN HS

NS

“ry 00 H

APPENDIX II

Large bottles taureau (a prepara-
tion like bovril).
Small do do.
Tin petit pois.
», dried mixed vegetables.’
Boxes pulled figs.
Box muscatel raisins.§
Tins Bartlett pears.
5» peaches.
Bottles French plums,
Tins (1 lb.) marmalade.
is >, apricot jam, &.
Bottles damsons.
Lbs. crystallised apricotsand green-
gages,9
Bottles pickled onions.
Jar preserved ginger.
Lbs. Mexican chocolate.
Tins Van Houten’s cocoa.
Lbs. mocha coffee.

4

=
HWwWOonR MN HNN Aw AB

ae nT ON

La

203

Lbs. tea.

Bottles sterilised milk.

Tin cream.

Tins (4 lb.) Devonshire butter.
Dutch cheeses.

Bags (7 Ibs.) Hill’s whole meal.!°
Large tin captain biscuits."
Small

99 9 fruit +]

» arrowroot ,,

cabin ee

ginger nut ,,

oatmeal 5s

protene oy

Lbs. brown moist sugar.
» loaf sugar.

Jar French mustard.

», table salt.

2 Boxes candles.

Bottle Harvey Sauce.
Vinolia soap.

The above, except the first four items, were procured from the Army and

it may savour of an advertisement.

Navy Stores, London, and were all excellent in quality.

I have had my food

supplies from this association for every expedition since 1891, and have never
had cause to complain of anything ; a fact I do not hesitate to record, although

LIQUIDS.

Each man to his taste, little alcohol is really required.

appreciated by most visitors.

7 Most useful.
8 Good for lunch.
9 For visitors.

10 Made into delicious brown bread at Vardo, Xe.

Cherry Brandy

Add } tin to No. 5 occasionally.

Even with the greatest care it

began to turn mouldy after seven or eight days; and when this penetrates to the

interior of the loaves biscuits are preferable.

Unfortunately our cook could not

bake bread on board as he had no suitable oven.

Do not be persuaded to take the hardest baked kinds of biscuits.

There is not always

time to soak them, and I have known a man damage four teeth during one voyage

on these “rocks.”

204 APPENDIX II

CLOTHES.

Two suits of strong cloth, suitable for winter wear in England, lined with
flannel. Colour, a light yellow buff, with little pattern. To successfully
watch birds to their nests, it is necessary that all parts of the costume should
harmonise with the prevailing tint of the tundra, and I have found the above
colour makes the wearer almost invisible.

Strong cloth macintosh with detachable cape, of the pattern used for
driving ; the cape alone is sufficient protection when walking in rain, and can
be carried on top of the knapsack.

Greatcoat or thick cover-coat.

Soft hat, with wide brim, which shades the eyes from the sun and keeps the
rain out of the neck.

| Caps of same cloth as suits.

Flannel shirts (not white).

Underwear of same weight as used during winter in England.

Neckties, pocket-handkerchiefs.

Stockings and socks.

Night suits of flannel.

Strong leather gloves; not stitched down the back, as mosquitoes bite freely
through these stitches.

Woollen gloves for wet weather.

Extra pair of braces.

Small dressing case, ‘“‘ Huswife” well stocked with large-sized needles
thread &c.

Sponge and bag. Towels.

Two pairs of shooting boots. The only nails which will stand rough work
are those used for fishing-boots ; they are screwed through the lower sole and
riveted over a thin copper washer before the sole is sewn on to the boot.
Extra boot laces.

Pair of indiarubber deck-boots.

Pair of strong shoes.

Pair leather slippers.

Leggings made of macintosh twill (same as used for long fais ion
bound at bottom with leather, and secured under foot with strong leather strap.
These should be like a pair of wading-boots cut through on the line of the ankle
bone. The straps at top are best attached to brass studs on a leather waist-

a

APPENDIX II 205

belt. Wading-boots are liable to chafe the heels after several days’ walking
over heavy country, even when secured round the ankles with straps. Leggings,
as described, are not waterproof when crossing a stream two or three feet
deep! but when they are well strapped down over the boots, it is astonishing
how marshes can be crossed without the wearer getting wet. One can always
kneel in safety to examine flowers, nests, dc. With the macintosh cape they
form a complete protection from the heaviest rain, and are far easier to walk
in than a long macintosh. Lastly, their colour is good.

Screw boot stretchers most necessary, and much better than lasts. Boots
are never dry in the north, and are easier to the feet when wet; still they
must be stretched into shape, or they wrinkle, &c., until they become unbear-
able. The following receipt for making boots waterproof and soft is good, and
is used by the Norwegian fishermen. Melt the composition and warm the
boots before applying :—2 parts Stockholm tar; 2 parts cod liver oil; 1 part
mutton fat.

Mosquito nets, as illustrated by Seebohm in “Siberia in Europe,” p. 225.
These are indispensable in many parts of the north; still I ought to say I have
taken them four times, and never worn them until 1903. On the coast
mosquitoes are only seriously troublesome in hot weather during July and
August ; and the traveller rarely finds them at their worst in this locality, as
there is so often a cool wind from the sea to check their ardour. Oil of
lavender gives temporary relief from mosquitoes, but kreolin is the best thing
I have tried. It is a preparation from tar, and as nine parts of water must be
mixed with one of kreolin before using it, only a small bottle of kreolin is
required. It also has the great advantage of allaying the irritation caused by
mosquito bites.

This list does not include clothes, &c., for the voyage out and home.

CAMPING.

Tent or Tents.—Having our steamer as a base, and not wishing to travel
far inland, the weight of the tent was not a matter of serious consideration.
My last pattern is one g ft. long x 7 ft. high in centre x 13 ft. outside and 8 ft.
wide inside, supported by a ridge pole resting on upright poles at either end.
The covering is of strong white duck-cloth lined with blue serge, the latter
being added both for warmth and to produce darkness. In the continuous day
of the northern summer it is a great comfort to be able to shut out most of the
light when wanting to sleep. I have noticed also it hasa marked effect on the

206 APPENDIX II

mosquitoes; these insects, never having experienced darkness, became quiet
directly the tent was shut up. As may beseen in Plate 34, the outer covering
of the left-hand tent (that described above) is continued to the ground, forming
a triangular space on each side, most useful for stores, &c.; it also takes the
wet further from the interior. <A strip of Willesden canvas, one foot wide, is
sewn round the bottom edge of tent, which keeps out the wind when weighted
down. The tent was made by Edgington & Co.

Beds.—Sleeping on the ground is not comfortable, and a mattress is rather
bulky to carry. In 1894 I procured a bed and set of boxes, described by W.
G. Lock in his “‘ Guide to Iceland,” pp. 23-26, from Bowring, Arundel & Co.,
Fenchurch Street; and have found them a most comfortable and excellent
arrangement. The boxes being lined with zinc can be relied on to keep things
dry ; they form seats and tables during the day, and as cases of some kind must
be taken for stores, all that is really carried for the bed is a piece of canvas
6 ft. 6 in. x 3 ft. and two light ash poles. Two men will put up both their beds
in five minutes, after a little practice. Two blankets, or blanket and sleeping
bag, will be required. The latter should not be of skins for summer use. An
air-pillow useful.

A macintosh sheet large enough to cover at least half the tent must be
included, as all ground is full of moisture during June. If no “ Iceland” beds
be taken, the sheet should cover the whole of the space. (V.B.—Roll it up
each morning before you put your boots on, or its life will be short. A good
sheet carefully used will last three seasons.)

Two indiarubber bowls. (A. and N. Stores’ pattern, good).

Galvanised-iron bucket. (Bought in Troms).

Small fisherman’s stove and stove-pipe. (do.) This is a great com-
fort; and a cwt. of coal will last a week with care. If a stove be taken, two
kettles (one for coffee) will be required.

Indiarubber boat, or some light form of boat, to hold one, which two men
can carry comfortably for three or four miles over rough ground. If the
traveller is fortunate enough to meet with lakes having islands, he is almost
certain to find eggs on the latter, especially if no ordinary boat is available ;
and the water is generally too cold for swimming. My boat was made by
Macintosh & Co.

Medicine Chest.—The contents of this must depend largely on the medical
knowledge of the person about to use them. I have none, and therefore got
my doctor to draw up a list, with instructions. Very few of the remedies have
ever been used, as there has been no serious accident or illness among

‘ante
ioe

APPENDIX II 207

passengers and crew in six years. Elliman’s embrocation and sticking-plaster
were the only things required in 1go1.

Knapsack with four wooden boxes for carrying eggs.

A set of nested wooden boxes (made by Cooper, Dennison & Walkden, 7 St.
Bride Street, E.C.) occupy little space on the outward journey, and are the
best I know for packing eggs in. The outside box measures 14} in. x 11} in.
x g} in., and contains fourteen others.

Blotting paper of best quality to place eggs on when drying. (NV.B.—Eggs
should then have the light excluded from them, or they fade rapidly in colour).

Cotton wool and cap paper for packing. Put a sheet of cotton wool on
the bottom of the box, allowing its edges to come up the sides a little; wrap
each egg up in a square of paper large enough to twist up at the ends; place
the eggs close together so that they will not shake, with cotton wool between
each layer. When the boxes are full, pack them in a wooden case securely,
and the eggs will then travel home safely with ordinary care.

Egg-blowing apparatus.—Drills, blow-pipes (glass ones for small eggs),
Scissors, bent and straight for cutting young birds out of eggs. Hooks, in
handles, for holding the bird when cutting; also two or three forceps of
different sizes for the same purpose.

Two or three sizes of round paper labels, well gummed, to stick on incu-
bated eggs before removing the young bird. By using these an egg can often
be emptied safely which would be otherwise hopeless. For blowing large eggs
such as those of Geese, Swans, large Ducks, Guillemots, &c., procure an enema
of good quality, remove the bone outlet, and insert in its place a large brass
blow-pipe. One person holds the egg in the left hand, and the blow-pipe,
where it is joined to the rubber tube, in the right ; while the second man works
the enema. The blow-pipe should be held lightly between the thumb and
finger, so that any undue pressure may force the pipe out of the egg, not burst
the latter. To work the apparatus alone, a clamp to hold the blow-pipe is
required, which can be fixed on the edge of a table or some convenient board.
This contrivance was first designed by Mr. EH. Bidwell, and has saved me
many a weary hour of strained cheek-muscles; it is too powerful for the
smaller eggs.

Two earthenware (or enamelled iron) jars, about g in. x 6 in., with lids
secured by screw clamps, for young in down, &c. These should be filled with
methylated spirits, and carried in a strong wood case made to fit them,

Skinning tools. Arsenical soap or other preservative. Museum labels.

Tools &c.—Saw, hatchet, large hammer (for tent pegs), small hammer ;

208 APPENDIX II

chisels and gauges, bradawls and gimlets, turnscrew, files, turkey stone for
skinning tools, &c., screw wrench, wire plyers, nails (assorted 3 in.—1 in.),
screws (assorted), screw hooks (invaluable in cabin for hanging clothes, &c., on),
copper wire, thin and thick. Small but strong spade for cutting trenches
round tents, &c.; mine is 30 in. long, blade 7 in. x 5 in., the steel socket reach-
ing nearly to the handle.

Guns.—Cartridges Nos. BB, 5, 8, and dust, in brass cases. Insist on the
paper over wads being of different colours, so that the sizes can be at once
recognised. Gun-cleaner and mops, oil, vaseline, gun-cloths.,

Pair of field-glasses of 8 or 12 power.

Ball of rope same strength as tent ropes; one of thick, and one of thin
string.

Cooking apparatus.—Two ‘“‘ Rechaud Lang” travelling spirit-stoves, larger
size, price 2s. 6d. each, including saucepan. These are the best cooking stoves
I know of, and I have used them repeatedly. During our stay in Iceland in
1894, which lasted six weeks, the whole of the food for two persons was cooked
on them, using two gallons of methylated spirit. I have six oblong cases of
pewter metal with brass screwed stoppers, each holding half a gallon (one is
sometimes devoted to whisky), which are made to just fill the bottom of one of
the Iceland boxes named above. Do not use any stove requiring paraffin; if
it escapes among the food everything it touches is spoilt; spirit evaporates and
leaves scarcely a trace. If there is a draught in the tent affecting the stove,
cook inside one of the Iceland boxes.

Methylated spirits. Small funnel for filling stoves. Extra stove wicks.

Two square dripping tins 8 in. x 6 in. for frying over stove.

Tea-pot.

Enamelled iron mugs, pint and half-pint made taper to nest.

Enamelled iron plates. Knives, forks, spoons, in proportion to number of
members of expedition.

Two tin-openers, corkscrews.

Matches.

Tea-cloths, &c., for “ washing up.”

Compass, aneroid, thermometers.

Writing paper, pens, ink, pencils, luggage labels, indiarubber bands, money
bags, stick-on labels, bottle of fish-glue, diaries, egg note book, bird-skin note
book.

Books, charts, and maps relating to the country to be visited.

Saunders’ ‘“ Manual of British Birds,” Dresser’s ‘‘ Manual of Palearctic

APPENDIX II 209

Birds.” Paintings of rarer birds possibly to be seen. J have a series copied
from Dresser’s ‘‘ Birds of Europe,” and have found them invaluable for show-
ing to the natives. Some novels.

Camera in case, and legs. Patterns are endless and constantly improving.
If only one is taken I would recommend a half-plate size with the best lens
procurable. A stand is indispensable for photographing plants, nests, &c., at
close quarters; this should be provided with a tilting-table, so that the camera
can be fixed at any angle. Instantaneous films, double films, and isochro-
matic films in proportion of 8.1.1. Iron box with lock, in which the films fit
easily, but without shaking, or the envelopes will cut through during a long
journey. If weight of box be objectionable, take tin-cases holding six dozen
films each. \

Wynne’s exposure meter and box of re-fills.

“Holiday ” lamp and candles; half a dozen yards of black and red calico
are useful at times for making a “ dark room.”

Extra rubber-tube for shutter.

Extra glasses for camera and lamp. N.B.—Personally test the latter with
isochromatic films before you leave home, and trust to no dealer.

Wheeler’s exposure register.

INDEX

Accentor modularis, 193

Accipiter nisus, 196

Acrocephalus phragnutis, 150, 193

Aigialitis curonica, 198

hiaticula. See Plover, Ringed

Alauda arvensis. See Lark, Sky-

Alca torda. See Razorbill

Alexandrowsk, 116

Ampelis garrulus. See Waxwing

Anas boscas. See Mallard

Andarnaia fjord, 11

Anikiev island, 22

Anikievka river, 22

Anser albifrons, 197

arvensis. See Goose, Bean-

brachyrhynchus, 196

cinereus. See Goose, Grey-Lag-

erythropus, 197

segetum. See Goose, Bean-

Anthus cervinus. See Pipit,

throated

gustavi, 19, 193

obscurus. See Pipit, Rock-

pratensis. See Pipit, Meadow-

trivialis, 193

Aquila chrysaétus. See Eagle, Golden

Archibuteo lagopus. See Buzzard,
Rough-legged

Arveden lake, 45

Asto accipitrinus. See Owl, Short-eared

Astur palumbarius, 196

Auk, Little, 201

Red-

Bernicla brenta, 197

leucopsis, 197

Bluethroat, Red-spotted, 17, 20, 21,
24, 26, 30, 38, 73, 80, 98, 121,
12/54) 1102

Bonasa betulina.

See Grouse, Hazel-

' Brambling, 28, 38, 45, 48, 49, 81, 87,

TT a2 LAO, man

149, 150, 165, 194
Bubo ignavus, 195

145, 148,

_ Bugrjanka river, go

Bullfinch, Northern, 194

Bunting, Wapland, 8) 169))2i12ienneian
32, 37; 60, 79, 80, 85, 96, 98, 99;
LOSMUNZA, HAS TO 4:

—— Ortolan, 194

——— Reed-, 26, 38, 47, 121, 132, 137,
140, 162, 194

——- Rustic, 194

—— Snow-, 8, 12, 21, 23, 50, 60, 63,

66; SO/108,, \PL5, 147) tgs) Os

Yellow, 140, 194

Buskar river, 42, 45, 52

Buteo vulgaris, 195

Buzzard, 143, 145

Common, 195

—— Rough-legged, 11, 24, 27, 45, 48,
50, 52,100, 68.) 70, 157,90" hom,
120, 122.522, 01215 ZO a etic

195

Calidris arenaria, 199

Capercaillie, 49, 130, 132, 153,157,198

Carduelis elegans, 193

Chaffinch, 194

Charadrius pluvialis.
Golden

Chelidon urbica.

Chiffchaff, 192

Chizha river, 89, 111

Chrysomitris spinus, 194

Cinclus melanogaster, 192

Circus cyaneus, 127, 195

Clangula glaucion. See Goldeneye

Colymbus adams, 13, 201

See Plover,

See Martin, House-

INDEX

Colymbus arcticus. See Diver, Black-

throated

glacialis, 69, 201

septentrionalis,

throated

Cormorant, 23, 65, 120, 196

Corvus corax. See Raven

cornix. See Crow, Hooded

Frugilegus. See Rook

Cosmonetta histrionica, 197

Cotile riparia. See Martin, Sand-

Crane, Common, 198

Crex pratensis, 198

Crossbill, Common, 194

Parrot, 194

Crow, Hooded, 2, 13, 17, 59,121, 130,
141, 146, 195

Cuckoo; 20,9233, 140, 195

Cuculus canorus. See Cuckoo

Curlew, Common, 199

Cyanecula suecica.
Red-spotted

Cygnus bewickt, 197

musicus. See Swan, Whooper

Cypselus apus, 195

See Diver, Red-

See Blue-throat,

Dajila acuta. See Pintail

Devkin bay, 9, 12, 20

Dipper, 133

Black-bellied, 192

Diver, 17, 69, 73, 142

Black-throated, 11, 13, 50, 69,

79, 88, 124, 145, 149, 150, 159,

161, 201

— Great Northern, 69, 201

Red-throated, 33, 35, 68, 77, 86,

OG; 1025, 100, 145, 150, 168, 201

White-billed, 13, 201

Dotterel, r1, 20, 23, 35, 51, 68, 76, 80,
83, 84, 86, 108, 198

Dryocopus martius, 134, 195

Dick 7 mon 2owisa."A7, TOO, 130, 132

Hider, 3,8, 12, 20, 21, 23, 32, 56,

6o, 61, 64, 65, 78, g1, 108, 167, 197

—— Harlequin, 197

— King Eider, 106, 115, 197

—— Long-tailed, 5, 8, 12, 17, 24, 30,
GOsG4, G5n 775) fOr 00; 50, Go, 10d,
LLG, 122. b4 0, Oo, 1o7

Duck, Steller’s, 197

Tufted, 137, 149, 150, 197

Wild. See Mallard

Dinh s.2..20 922, 228 2A. 25. oT,
64, 76, 98, 99, 108, 160, 199

Kagle, 47
Golden, 140, 195
—— White-tailed, 3, 5, 28, 50, 122,

195
Eider, King. See Duck, King Hider
Kina bay, 24
Ekaterina, 116
Emberiza citrinella, 140, 194
hortulana, 194
rustica, 194
scheniclus. See Bunting, Reed-
Eindromias morinellus. See Dotterel

Falco cesalon. See Merlin

gyrfalco. See Falcon, Gyr-

peregrinus, 115, 196

tinnunculus, 196

Falcon, 24

Gyr, Jo, 122, 123, 124, 196

Peregrine, 115, 196

Fieldfare, 5, 11, 20, 26, 49, 86, 121,
Tg 2s 30s, 1425) b4 Syn Aba GO,

192
Finkongkjeilen, 6
Flycatcher, Pied, 51, 152, 193
Spotted, 152, 159, 193
Fratercula arctica. See Puffin
Fringilla colebs, 194
montifringilla.
Fulgé (North), 3
Fuligula cristata. See Duck, Tufted
marila, See Scaup
Fulmar, 60, 109, 201
Fulmarus glacialis.

See Brambling

See Fulmar

Gallinago celestis.

gallinula, 199

major, Xlll., 199

Gannet, 196

Garrulus glandarius, 195

Godwit, Bar-tailed, 30, 108, 112, 120,
122, 124, 140, 141, 145, 146, 154,
155, 199

See Snipe, Common

212

Goldeneye, 120,132) 533))ina Gunde)
143, 161, 197

Goldfinch, 193

Goosander, 9, 30, 121, 145, 197

Goose, 3.122.) 22. 28. Go ges limonNeias
95, 102, 123, 131

ROR RRTR Bean-, 74, 124, 126, 139, 144,
145, 151, 196

—— Bernacle, 197

—— Brent, 197

—— Grey Lag-, 2, 4, 196

Lesser White-fronted, 197

—— Pink-footed, 196

-—— Red-breasted, 107

White-fronted, 197

Goshawk, 196

Grebe, Red-necked, 201

Sclavonian, 201

Greenshank,\121))/522 oan 25 nao.
TZOs | TAO TAZ TAR mG Oy) Li GAk
157; 199

Grosbeak, Pine-, 121, 122, 166, 194

Grouse, black, 198

Hazel-, 124, 198

—— Willow-, 5, 24, 28, 39, 69, 71, 75,
87, 96, 97, 121, 133, 147, 148,
157; 158, 198

Grus communis, 198

Guillemot, 23, 64

Black, 8, 20, 23, 37, 65, 77, 89,

201

_—— Briinnich’s, 201

—-— Common, 201

Spitsbergen, 201

Gully a) 21/27, 29.64.66, OO, TOS

Common4, 75120132. 3474/50) 0,

655,30; $8,120, //113.3,), TAG, 200

—— Glaucous, 59, 65, 78, 91, 105,

107,200

Greater Black-backed, 2, 4, 5, 7,

II, 20, 23, 37, 61, 63, 65, 66,

109, 120, 200

—— Herring.-, 2, 8, 10, 11, 59, 61, 63,

65,'/103,) 120, 162, 200

Iceland, 200

-—— Ivory, 200

-_— Lesser Black-backed, 11, 33, 37,
LOO) UZAY TA WNT 5S. FO.) O2,

200

INDEX

@ °
Gull, Sabine’s, 200
Siberian Herring-, 200

Hematopus ostralegus. See Oyster-
catcher

Haliaéius albicilla. See Hagle, White-
tailed

FHlarelda glacialis. See Duck, Long-
tailed

Harrier, Hen-, 127, 195

Hawk, 8

Sparrow-, 196

Heno\(Great) 6,7, 9,1 2.2 5a) 2os ean
55, 60, 108

—— (Little), 11, 14, 36, 109

Hibsinski mountains, 157

Hirundo rustica, See Swallow

Imandra lake, 147, 149, 152

Jay, Common, 195
Siberian, 28, 133, 195

Kambalnitza river, 104

Kanin cape and peninsula, 57-111

Kanin Nos, 65, 104

Kestrel, Common, 196

Kildin island, 61, 106

Kitsa station and river, 131, 132, 133,
13

Kittiwake, 14, 23, 60, 103, 200

Kaya river, 104

Knot, 199

Kola town, river, and fjord, 113, 116,
LL, Moi LO, i 2O,| 21.2 sume
125, 129, 149

Kolozero lake, 139, 152, 158

Konushin cape, go

Korabelnaya bay, 24

Korga island, 104, 105

Korovi point, 66

Kurenga river, 153

See Grouse, Willow-
See Ptarmigan

Lagopus albus.
MULUS.
Landrail, 198
Lanius excubitor.
Grey
Lapwing, 198

See Shrike, Great

INDEX

Lark, Shore-, 10, 11, 21, 23, 24, 26, 51,
59, 64, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 84, 38,
96,).102; 10d, 124,067, 168, 194

—'Sky-, 115, 140, 194

Larus affinis, 200

argentatus. See Gull, Herring-

canus. See Gull, Common

Jfuscus. See Gull, Lesser Black-
backed
glaucus. See Gull, Glaucous

leucopterus, 200

—— marinus. See Gull, Greater Black-
backed

Limicola platyrhyncha.
piper, Broad-billed

Limosa lapponica. See Godwit, Bar-
tailed

Linota exilipes, 194

Jlavirostris. See 'Twite

linartia. See Redpoll, Mealy

Litza fjord, 26

Lomvia bruennichi, 201

trowle, 201

Loxia curvirostra, 194

pityopsittacus, 194

MutniyGGn 7235.87, 160

Sand-

See

Machetes pugnax. See Ruff

Magpie, 195

Mallard, 102, 197

Mareca penelope. See Wigeon

Martin, House-, 67, 166, 193

Sand-, 42, 166, 193

Masala, 139

Maselsid, 139, 140, 145, I51

Medveji island, 65, 77, 89

Merganser, Red-breasted, I0, 12, 32,
ZO MASAO 1O7, LOO, T21, 133,
TA 2,002.) %O3,, TO5, 197

Mergulus alle, 201

Mergus albellus, 107, 197

—— merganser. See Goosander

serrator, See Merganser, Red-

breasted

Merlin, 59, 121, 136, 196

Mocha bay, 24

Monastery bay, 61

Motacilla alba. See Wagtail, White

— citreola, 107

213

| Motacilla flava, 193

viridis. See Waxtail, Grey-headed
Motovski gulf, 24

Murdozero station and lake, 135
Muscicapa atricapilla. See Flycatcher,
Pied
grisola,

See Flycatcher, Spotted

Nes River, 57, 90

Nettion crecca. See Teal

Novaya Zemlya, 24

Numenius arquata, 199

pheopus. See Whimbrel
Nyctala tengmalmt, 195

Nyctea scandiaca. See Owl, Snowy

Cidemia fusca. See Scoter, Velvet
nigra. See Scoter, Common
Osprey, .47,'50, 120, 131, 196
Otocorys alpestris. See Lark, Shore-
Owl, Eagle, 195

-—— Hawk, 49, 143, 144, 150, 158, 195
— Lapp, 195

—— Short-eared, 141, 195

—— Snowy, 8, 82, 195

-—— Tengmalm’s, 195

Ural, 195

| Oyster-catcher, 8, 11, 12, 23, 24, 26, 37,

61, 63,96, 99, 108, 109,122,165,199

Pagophtla eburnea, 200

Pandion haliaétus. See Osprey

Parus ater, 193

borealis.

Marsh-

—— camtschathensis, Xiil., 45

cinctus. See Titmouse, Lapp

——- major, 193

Passer domesticus, 19, 194

montanus, 97, 194

Pechenga gulf, river, and lake, 9, 16,
20, 37, 43, 49, 115

Pereyaver lake, 152, 153, 158

Pertsoreus infaustus. See Jay, Siberian

Phalacrocorax carbo. See Cormorant

graculus. See Shag

Phalarope, Red-necked, 12, 22, 23, 24,
22% 35,96; 98,202,168, FLO; 150,
164, 199

See Titmouse, Northern

214 INDEX

Phalaropus hyperboreus.
rope, Red-necked

Phylloscopus borealis.
Eversmann’s

—— collybita, 192

trochilus. See Willow-Wren

Pica rustica, 195

Picoides tridactylus. See Woodpecker,
Three-toed

Picus major, 195

——— minor, 134, 195

Pinicola enucleator. See Grosbeak,
Pine-

Pintaily4, tO2401 220124 140.17,

Pipit,Mieadow-.18,) 125, 17, 20,121. 213°
24, 32, 37) 59 52, 59, 61, 64, 65,
OWA tO On LOO. WE 2 use 7a aul 2k
EAA 2. 1AS. 150, (102,107, 108

——- Petchora, 19, 193

-—— Red-throated, 19, 24, 28, 37, 38,
BO s52; Oly 90,190, TOO, TOS, 12's,
167, 168, 193

— Rock-, 167, 193

Tree-, 193

Plectrophaneslapponicus. See Bunting,

Lapland

nivalis. See Bunting, Snow-

Plover; ‘(Golden,'1.7, 21, 23, 24. 30, 50;
70,7 25, 7105, O3104,,05; 00, 108, 122),
140, 142, 154, 198

— Grey, 198

Lesser Ringed, 198

— Ringed, 16, 21, 24, 73, 96, 99,
102, 106, 108; 124,127, 140, 105,
198

Podiceps auritus, 201

grisetgena, 201

Porsanger fjord, 5

Pratincola rubetra, 192

Ptarmigan, 11, 13, 39, 69, 72, 75, 198

Euiin 27.00.0010, 10, 24,100,208

Pulozero station and lake, 112, 137,
138, 146, 149, 150, 152, 159, 160

Pyrrhula major, 194

See Warbler,

Raven 4jgs i 2a423))24,.60,104. 1015,
68, 70, 77, 97, 102, 115, 122, 126,
140, 141, 159, 164, 168, 195

Raz-Navolok, 149, 153, 156, 158, 160

See Phala- |

Razorbill, 16, 23, 201

Redpoll, Coues’s, 194

Mealy, 12, 26, 30, 38, 46, 49, 69,

78, 80; 97, Ol, LOS, ke lees nAo.

149, 150, 166, 167, 168, 194

Redshank, Common, 5, 13, 17, 21, 45;
80, 124, 127, 199

—— Spotted, 112, 121, 125, 139, 140,
142, 145, 140, 150; 05) 050) Hom,
164, 165, 199

Redstart, 28, 45, 132, 137, 140, 192

Redwing, 11, 24, 26, 66, 68, 70, 71, 73;
74; 78; 80, 84, 875 96, 100, 108,
E20, 022) T2i5 127. 1 320) NAOUmAGs
147, 165, 192

Reeve. See Ruff

Ribatchi peninsula, 21, 25, 108

King-Ouzel, 192

Risé, 3, 4

Rissa tridactyla. See Kittiwake

Rook, 121, 195

Rudil; 16;' 355) 95,0103, 127.) 1204s
144, 146, 149, 161, 199

Ruticilla phencurus. See Redstart

St. Triphon’s Monastery, 18, 41, 53, 170
Sanderling, 199

Sandpiper, Broad-billed, 146, 160, 199
Common, 47, 124, 132, 140, 199
——-— Curlew, 199

—— Green, xili.

—— Purple, 8, 21, 35, 60, 168, 199
—— Wood.-, 70, 73, 101, 127, 132, 139,
154, 158, 159, 165, 167, 199

Sascheika, 129

Saxicola cenanthe. See Wheatear,
Common

Scaup, 78, 98, 197

Scoter, Common, 5, 60, 78, 122, 137,
140, 140, 159, 197

caer Velvet, 8, 32, 333 36, 44, 60, 78,
$0; 575) LO7,, 10d. LOO 120. NAO,
158, 197

Shag, 8, 64, 196

Sharapov point, 23

Sheldrake, Common, 197

Shoina river, 90, 104, I11

Shrike, Great Grey, 133, 145, 193

Siskin, 194

INDEX 215

Skaar6, 3, 4

Skua, 5, 7, 33

-—— Buffon’s, 13, 20, 23, 24, 25, 50,
Ele 7O;GO, OSG 7a Lol, 103, 160,
201

—— Great, x1ll., 200

—— Pomatorhine, xiii., 60, 106, 107,
108, 200

——- Richardson’s, 8, 14, 16, 20, 23,
33) 37, 56, 65, 76, 77, 89, 200

Smew, 107, 198

Snipe, 45, 86, 87, 96, 146, 148, 160

Common, xill., 103, 140, 199

—— Great, xilil., 199

Jack, 199

Solovaraka hill, 119

Somateria mollissima. See Duck, Eider

spectabilis. See Duck, King Eider

stellert, 197

Sparrow, Hedge, 193

House-, 19, 194

Tree-, 97, 194

Squatarola helvetica, 198

Starling, Common, 3, 115, 194

Stercorarius catarrhactes, xill., 200

creptdatus, See Skua, Richard-

son’s

parasiticus. See Skua, Buffon’s

pomatorhinus. See Skua, Poma-

torhine

Sterna fluviatilis, 200

macrura. See Tern, Arctic

Stint, 35

—— Little, 36, 56, 110, 199

— Temminck’s, 17, 23, 24, 27, 37;
39, 76, 96, 97, 100, 108, 165, 166,
168, 199

Stor Tamsé, 5

Strepsilas interpres. See Turnstone

Sturnus vulgaris. See Starling, Common

Sula bassana, 196

Surnia ulula, See Owl, Hawk

Sviatoi Nos, 65, 66

Svyatonoskaya bay, 66, 84

Swallow, 125, 140, 193

Swan, 13, 45, 49, 124

Bewick’s, 197

W hooper, 37, 46, 47, 120,122,197

Swan lake, 47

Swift, 195

Sylvia salicaria, 192
Syrnium lapponicum, 195
uralense, 195

Tadorna cornuta, 197

Tana fjord, 6

eal, O77 OOaL2i.) U22 ai 24, oak oe
TAO, E42, 146, 146, 107

Tern, 33, 36, 50, 55, 63, 108, 165

——— Arctic, 5, 7, 20, 21, 22, 23, 32, 50,

OOo 024 132.5140, 142, 102,

164, 200

Common, 200

Tetrao tetrix, 198

urogallus. See Capercaillie

Thrush, Missel-, 192

Song-, 192

Titmouse, 29

—— Coal, 193

—-- Great, 193

Senha oy Lapp, 124, 132, 134, 137, 139,
144, 148, 193°

Northern Marsh, xiil., 45, 193

Torna river, go

Totanus calidris. See Redshank,

Common

canescens. See Greenshank

Ffuscus. See Redshank, Spotted

— glareola. See Sandpiper, Wood-

—— hypoleucus. See Sandpiper,

Common

ochropus, xiil.

Tringa alpina. See Dunlin

canutus, 199

minuta. See Stint, Little

—-— striata. See Sandpiper, Purple

subarquata, Xill., 199

temmincht. See Stint, Temminck’s

Triphona river, 16, 17, 37

Tschongai, 130

Tuloma river, 119, 120, 122, 124, 125

Turdus iliacus. See Redwing

musicus, 192

pilaris. See Fieldfare

torquatus, 192

visctvorus, 192

Tiirnstone, 8; 15; 21, 32) 33, 34) 35;
36,'37, 61, So, 108, ITO, 196

216

Twite, 2
Tzuip point, 31

Ukanskoe river and lake, 66, 67, 74,
86

Umpdek Dunder range, 157

Uria grylle. See Guillemot, Black

mandti, 201

Vanellus vulgaris, 198
Vardé, 114
Volokovaya bay, 25

Wazetail, Blue-headed, 193
Grey-headed, 19, Ior, 132, 140,
PAS TGOi 51,150,003
—— White, 5, 9, 10, 17, 21, 23, 24,
27, 37, 50, 59, 64, 65, 66, 68, 72,
OGO\ LOO, HOS 122.124, 132, 137,
139, 148, 162, 193
—-- Yellow-headed, 107
Warbler, Blue-throated.
throat, Red-spotted
Eversmann’s, 158, 159, 164, 165,
166, 192
Garden-, 192

See Blue-

THE

INDEX

Warbler, Sedge, 150, 193

Waxwing, 29, 132, 193

Wheatear, Common, 24, 39, 46, 49, 51,
82.) 07) TOO, 12052 82. L AO iain

167, 192

Wihimbrel,!n7,)/19,) 20, (Somme in gia.
129) 141,.\ 146, Pashia. 0 Tea,
ee)

Whin-chat, 192

Wiceon, 16) 43,47, 121, )£240\1 40, nan,
TAS O25 TOF

Willow-Wren, 17, 26, 34, 44, 45, 49;
79, 80;°5'7, Q0, LO, LOCiT 24. nai.
140, 042,050, £60,192

Woodpecker, 29. 133

Great Black, 134, 195

Great Spotted, 195

—— Lesser Spotted, 134, 195

—— Three-toed, 45, 134, 195

Aema sabinii, 200
Yukan bay, 66

Zelenoi island, 77
Zip-Navolok, 22, 61

END

Printed by Hupson & Kearns, London

a <—
a

216

Twite, 2
Tzuip point, 31

Ukanskoe river and lake, 66, 67, 74,
Umpdek Dunder range, 157

Uria grylle. See Guillemot, Black
mandti, 201

Vanellus vulgaris, 198
Vardé, 114
Volokovaya bay, 25

Wazeztail, Blue-headed, 193
Grey-headed, 19, 101, 132, 140,
LAO UFO M5 Le liG Ontos
=| Wihites'5,' o, 10, 17, 21, 23, 24,
27, 37) 50, 59, 64, 65, 66, 68, 72,
GOMMOo, OS, (22,0 24. 12.) 137,
139, 148, 162, 193
—-- Yellow-headed, 107
Warbler, Blue-throated.
throat, Red-spotted
Eversmann’s, 158, 159, 164, 165,
166, 192
Garden-, 192

See Blue-

THE

INDEX

Warbler, Sedge, 150, 193

Waxwing, 29, 132, 193

Wheatear, Common, 24, 39, 46, 49, 51;
82) 87) TOS) T20 ns 24 Oumar

167, 192

Wihimbrel,’)17;)/ 19, 3onlh oman sae
139, 141, 146, 148, 154, 162,
199

Whin-chat, 192

Wigeon, 16, 43, 47, 121, 124, 140, 141,
TAS) WO2ttOy

Willow-Wren, 17, 26, 34, 44, 45, 49,
78, 80; /87,'90, TOl, TOS: T2445) nea
140,142.) 150, 100,192

Woodpecker, 29. 133

Great Black, 134, 195

Great Spotted, 195

—— Lesser Spotted, 134, 195

—— Three-toed, 45, 134, 195

AXema sabini, 200
Yukan bay, 66

Zelenoi island, 77
Zip-Navolok, 22, 61

END

Printed by Hupson & Kearns, London

38 40 42
70
Map of

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ae Sra i ee eee eY
a0” a aliappish) units of Slanovoi orPolice Districhs
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ads y ose Kt +FishingStation Ww)» ” if fir wood
2 chi ae . ~ Dunder/ lap) barren highland or mi. Jaurjayre(lap)Lake 69
X05, Niarg/

Drawn from the Original map made by
Prof. J.A.Friis

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