212 THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 



In the valley of the Yenesay, about a thousand 

 miles further east, but in nearly the same latitude, 

 very similar phenomena were witnessed. The 

 Snow Buntings and the Redpoles heralded the 

 migrant hosts, and proclaimed the advent of summer 

 and the general break up of the great river. A 

 Swan was seen, however, on the 5th of May ; on 

 the loth, a few Geese ; on the i6th (ten days 

 earlier than in the valley of the Petchora), a Swallow 

 arrived. During the remainder of the month, 

 however, little migration was observed, but flocks 

 of Geese and Swans were seen from time to time 

 flying south ! These were birds that had been too 

 eager to get on their journey, and were compelled 

 to return to open water far to the south. Summer 

 was at least a fortnight later in Siberia than in 

 Russia, and the Yenesay did not succeed in bursting 

 his ice fetters until the first of June. With the 

 break of the ice on that date migratory birds began 

 to arrive in force, following in the wake of the 

 gradually thawing river. "Although the first rush 

 of migratory birds across the Arctic Circle was 

 almost bewildering," writes Mr. Seebohm, " every 

 piece of open water and every patch of bare ground 

 swarming with them, a new species on an average 

 arriving every two hours for several days, the period 

 of migration lasted more than a month. Very little 

 migration was observable until about the 22nd of 

 May, although a few stragglers arrived earlier, but 

 during the next fortnight the migration was pro- 

 digious. In addition to enormous numbers of 



