the Birds of the Lower Petchora. 123 



giving place to the next species. We got it first at Ust Zyl- 

 ma on the 23rd May, and continued to shoot numbers of them 

 up to the time of our leaving that locality. But though plen- 

 tiful at Ust Zyhna, northwards Ave found them much rarer, 

 only occurring here and there in pairs in the opens and 

 clearings near the villages as far as Abramoff, or to about 20 

 miles within the arctic circle. North of that locality we did 

 not again see it. The northern range of this species appears 

 to overlap the southern range of the next species during the 

 breeding-season, and vice versa. Along the banks of the 

 Petchora stray pairs, as already noted, occur to the north of 

 the arctic circle ; and only stray pairs of the Yellow-headed 

 Wagtail occur to the south of the same degree of latitude. 

 A considerable belt of country lying along the arctic circle, 

 and for some distance north and south of it, may be looked 

 upon as a neutral territory of the two species, where neither 

 seems to have gained a firm footing. To the north of this 

 belt the Yellow-headed Wagtail becomes the commonest bird 

 of the delta ; and to the south of the same belt the present 

 species is abundant. 



BUDYTES CITREOLUS (Pall.). 



We did not find the Yellow-headed Wagtail at aU at Ust 

 Zylma ; and only one small party, of five birds, was seen at 

 Habariki, on the 3rd June, when a single example was shot. 

 We again met with a pair on the Y'orsa river, of which we 

 shot the male, and we found them sparingly here and there 

 in pairs, as already stated, frequenting the opener parts of the 

 woods, as far as Abramoff. After leaving Viski we found 

 them more numerously. At Kuya they were common, and 

 at Alexievka they were daily seen in abundance ; indeed this 

 species appeared to be quite the commonest bird on the islands. 

 It was present also, but not in such numbers, on the tundra. 

 At Stanavoialachta comparatively few were met with ; and 

 none were seen at Dvoinik. The first eggs were brought to 

 us by the Zyriani at Alexievka on the 19th June, the day of 

 our arrival at that place ; and we continued to get eggs in a 

 fresh state for some time. We procured the young able to 

 fly on the 20th July. 



