446 Messrs. H. Secbolira and J. A. Harvie Brown on 



on the islands. Almost every lakelet on the tundra held a 

 pair j and several pairs are often seen on the larger lakes. It 

 is certainly the commonest Duck on the tundra. In the 

 evenings also their curious cries, " cow-coiv-iv-ie," or, as avc 

 sometimes imagined, " kolqu-u-ef" (the name of a large island 

 in the Arctic Sea north of the Kanin tundra), were heard 

 constantly at Alcxievka ; and a large lagoon close to the houses 

 was pretty regularly frequented by them. Wc believe, how- 

 ever that all the eggs brought to us by the Zyriani were taken 

 on the tundra and not on the islands, because this species 

 does not frequent the islands for the purpose of breeding. 

 This is the tamest species of Duck with which we are ac- 

 quainted, being almost Grebe-like in its unwillingness to 

 take wing. They are, on the other hand, experts at diving, 

 and, although they often permit of a close approach in the 

 open, they are difficult to shoot, eluding the charge of shot 

 by rapid and repeated diving. On the larger lakes they 

 sought safety by swimming out to the centre, where they 

 could calmly repose in conscious security. We obtained the 

 young near Kuya, on the occasion of our second visit, and at 

 Dvoinik, when the parent bird showed great solicitude, swim- 

 ming up to the brood and trying to prevail upon them to follow 

 her out to the centre of the lake, the young apparently being 

 more inclined to hug the shore. We did not take any eggs 

 ourselves; but Simeon explained by signs that they were 

 generally placed under thick bushes of dwarf willow, birch, 

 or juniper (pointing to a plant of each), and Avere well con- 

 cealed. Two nests, however, which we saw at Dvoinik, after 

 the young had been hatched out, were deep cup-like hollows in 

 the bare dry meadow, chosen amongst the vegetable scum 

 which had been thrown up and left by the water, and which, 

 either by accident or design, formed part of the lining and 

 edging of the nests. We gathered the down from these nests, 

 but did not see any shells of broken eggs lying in or near 

 them. We obtained eggs not very far advanced in incubation 

 at Dvoinik as late as the end of July. These were brought 

 in by our men. 



