72 TRAVELS OF A NATURALIST 



now with fsix eggs — which we had found empty on the 

 13th. 



In the afternoon we went to the wood, found the Mealy 

 Redpoll's nest with five eggs, which we found on the 12th, 

 and also a Redstart's nest with six, but in both the eggs 

 were so hard set that we could not blow them. Also a 

 Fieldfare's, with fledged young, of which we brought four 

 home, and somebody brought in three nests of Meadow 

 Pipit, of which two contained six eggs each. 



We saw native dances in the kitchen. They waltzed 

 very slowly for about half an hour at a stretch, and some 

 of the men performed the ' Hailing dance,' a series of most 

 extraordinary capers, including a pirouette in the air and 

 kicking the roof ! 



June 26. 



On Monday, the 26th of June— a hot day — we meant 

 to have gone up Suletinden, but my inside being still out 

 of order we put it off. 



We went instead along the Nystuen Road, searching 

 the side of Smedalsvand for Ducks and Blue-throated 

 Warblers. 



Below the bridge at Gronlien Soeter one of the Nystuen 

 men gave us eight Teal eggs (incubated about four days) and 

 the down out of the nest, also a White Wagtail's, with five, 

 only one of which, however, we could blow. We got also a 

 couple of nests of four each of Redshank's eggs, one at 

 Nystuen, incubated about a week, and one at Osevand, 

 incubated about four days, and at Nystuen a nest of 

 Willow Warblers. 



Our search for Ducks' nests was in vain, and we believe 

 that the heavy floods, and consequent extension of the 

 surface of the lakes, have destroyed most of the nests, as 

 scarcely any birds were seen except two Scaup on the 

 lake near Kirkesoeterne and one ? of the same species 

 on the lake at Nystuen. We had a long search at 



