438 Messrs. H. Scehohra and J. A. Harvic Brown on 



flesli and seal-oil;, find their way, for the most part, to the 

 markets of Pincga, and even as far as Nijni -Novgorod. 



CyGNUS BEWICKI. 



To determine if possible the breeding-haunts of this species 

 of Swan, and bring home authentic eggs to England, was one 

 of the principal aims of our expedition. From the time of 

 our arrival at Ust Zylma in the middle of April, to that of our 

 departure for the delta in the beginning of June, we had ac- 

 quired no satisfactory evidence of its presence. We were 

 informed by the inhabitants at Ust Zylma, and by the best 

 sportsmen of the town, that there were two species, but that 

 the smaller went to the east of the Ural Mountains to breed. 

 But we had long since ceased to attach much importance to 

 any information we received on such subjects. Information 

 almost invariably proved conflicting and unsatisfactory. 



We had received a very small Swanks egg which had been 

 brought the previous summer from Gorodok ; but we could 

 learn nothing further concerning it, except that it might have 

 originally come from Varandai, or might have been taken in 

 the neighbourhood of Gorodok. We examined two speci- 

 mens of the Common Wild Swan, shot near Ust Zylma at 

 the time of migration, and took drawings and measurements 

 for future use. We had ourselves seen a good many Swans 

 flying overhead or settling on the ice of the river ; but in no 

 case were we able to identify them, though we settled in our 

 own minds that there were tw^o of different sizes. 



With nothing therefore to guide us in our search, save the 

 last-mentioned item, we started on our voyage down the 

 river in the beginning of June. - We saw Swans here and 

 there, but without identifying them. On arriving at Kuya, 

 and while shooting on a swampy willow-covered island close 

 to that place, Seebohm and Simeon found a Swan's nest 

 containing four eggs. We lay for a couple of hours after- 

 wards near the nest in the hope of getting a shot. Simeon 

 was heard to remark, " If the Sw^an is a little blind perhaps 

 he will shoot it," We did not shoot it, and no wonder, as a 

 pair of Hooded Crows, which had a nest in the vicinity. 



