VON GAZEXKAMPF 365 



than upon the side where our headquarters were. The 

 two commonest birds were the yellow-browed warbler 

 and the Arctic willow-warbler, and the songs or notes 

 of both were constantly to be heard. Sedge-warblers 

 were frequent on the banks, and bramblings in the 

 forest. 



In the evening I had a long chase after two birds,. 

 whose song resembled somewhat that of the wheatear. I 

 had to take a boat at last to get to them. They proved 

 to be two fine male Eastern stonechats, and though I 

 followed them for at least an hour, I never once heard 

 the call-note — ti-tzic-tzic — which our bird so constantly 

 utters. 



The next morning Boiling, I, and one of the engineers 

 rowed across the Kureika, and had another long round 

 along the banks of the Yenesei and in the forest. We 

 saw no more of the dark ouzels, but occasionally we 

 heard their note. The yellow-browed warbler and the 

 Arctic willow-warbler were as plentiful as ever, but we 

 could find no trace of their nests. These birds were 

 both in full song, and had evidently not begun to build. 

 I found a nest of Temminck's stint with two eggs. In 

 the willows near the shore sedge-warblers were singing 

 lustily, and once or twice we heard the Siberian pipit. 

 There were several pairs of black ducks across the river^ 

 probably black scoters. 



In the afternoon Sotnikoff s steamer arrived. Unfortu- 

 nately for us, as fate would have it, she carried as one of 

 her passengers the Zessedatel of Turukansk. He soon 

 boarded us, and as a matter of course he soon beofan to 

 beg. The captain was his first victim ; from him he 

 extracted a handsome pistol and some preserved fruit. 

 I presented the old gentleman with a bottle of sherry 

 and some cigars, but I absolutely refused to let him 



