384 TRAVELS OF A NATURALISl 



are all quite fresh. The Yellow-headed Wagtail's fresh 

 or slightly incubated. The Singing, or Petchora, Pipit's 

 nest of five, quite fresh. The Dunlins' are sat upon. 

 The Kedpoll's and Mealy Kedpolls' fresh or slightly 

 incubated. 



It should be mentioned that Seebohm shot certainly 

 the handsomest Sparrow we have ever seen — a male 

 House Sparrow. Another came a day or two afterwards, 

 but has since disappeared. 



June 25. 



We left Alexievka the morning of Friday, the 25th of 

 June, on a visit to Stanavoialachta, 40 versts lower down 

 the river, whence we can work both the tundra and 

 some of the further islands. Stanavoialachta is at present 

 uninhabited, and was the former lading-place for vessels 

 coming for wood, and was erected by the Company. 



About 10 versts from our destination we stopped and 

 shot and collected for some hours, drawing the boat to 

 shore at the mouth of the Youshina Biver. 



Seebohm worked the tundra on the right bank of the 

 river and I the left, accompanied by Simeon and Malenkai 

 Feodor. Simeon found a Plover's nest, and I waited 

 and shot the bird — a Golden Plover. The nest was prac- 

 tically the same as that of the Grey Plover's we took the 

 other day, and the eggs are very similar. The behaviour 

 of the bird was exactly similar to that of the Grey 

 Plovers, but it was perhaps not quite so wary. Both 

 species are, however, easily shot at the nest. 



A Bean Goose's nest was the next find, by Feodor, 

 containing seven eggs, of which he took six, leaving one 

 in the nest. I afterwards shot the Goose off the nest as 

 we returned to the boat. 



After a long search, Feodor found a nest of the AVillow 

 Warbler and I shot the bird, watching till its return to 

 the nest. The bird was shy, taking long flights in a wide 



