62 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



islands must always have great interest for every British ornithologist. 

 The diarists set out on this quest in a very practical fashion. Instead 

 of travelling northward with the returning birds, they started early 

 and anticipated the arrival of the subjects of their observation. 

 Thus, reaching Tromso on the 6th April, they proceeded to 

 Skibotten on the Lyngen Fjord, and crossed the watershed to 

 Kilpisjarvi, whence flows the Muonio to the Baltic, arriving at 

 Muoniovara on the i6th, just before the winter-ways became 

 impassable. Making their headquarters at Muonioniska, the 

 travellers stayed, "off and on," till the 24th June, then retracing 

 their steps to Tromso wherein lay, we think, a mistake, for a fort- 

 night longer would have largely increased their results. However, 

 they were by no means idle, and Mr. Meinertzhagen alone pushed 

 on to the north-east so far as Peldouoma, over as desolate and as 

 rough a tract of country as any one would wish, passing, apparently 

 without knowing it, close to the very spot where, more than forty years 

 before, the first Waxwing's nest was found by Wolley's people. 



He seems to have been satisfied with the spoils he obtained, 

 but most of the eggs collected appear to have been bought from the 

 country -people, and at exorbitant prices. We wish we could add 

 that he had increased our knowledge of the fauna of the district he 

 visited ; but we are unfortunately unable to accept those species he 

 names, which have not before been recorded as observed in it the 

 Moor-hen, the Barn Owl, and the Middle-spotted Woodpecker. 

 The last rested on the "authority" (save the mark !) of a man who 

 brought him some eggs, and may at once be discarded ; but the 

 other two birds he says he himself saw. Both must have been 

 familiar to him ; but in each case we fear he was mistaken even 

 as young and ardent ornithologists sometimes are. Had he obtained 

 a specimen of either, it would be a different matter ; but he was 

 evidently unaware of the fact that neither species, according 

 to previous information, had ever approached the latitude of 

 Muonioniska the Barn Owl not by a thousand miles. The same 

 disregard of their geographical range made him also lend too credu- 

 lous an ear to the stories told him of the Pigmy and the Ural Owl 

 the last having been only once before observed in Lapland. The 

 bird spoken of by his informant was evidently a Lapp Owl. The 

 suggestion of the occurrence of Anthus cervinus and Phylloscopus 

 borealis is very vague. Both, for what one knows to the contrary, 

 may inhabit that part of Lapland, but the fact that they do so is 

 undetermined. 



It is admittedly difficult to decide how a diary like that of Mr. 

 Meinertzhagen's should be printed, for it was certainly not written 

 for publication. In the preface we are told that this is intended to 

 be "an exact copy of the manuscript"; but surely it has not been 

 accurately copied, for we cannot bring ourselves to believe that the 



