450 Messrs. H. Seebohm and J. A. Harvie Brown on 



stems and branches of which immense quantities of drift 

 timber have been left by the floods, or lie upon the land piled 

 up in masses, or spread in regular layers, or floating in the 

 "kourias/^ over which latter runs the nimble Terek Sand- 

 piper. 



Behind Habariki, about half a verst distant, is an immense 

 swamp lying in the midst of old forest, and with pools of 

 water dotted about over its surface. It is quite two versts in 

 length by one verst or more in breadth. Here and there 

 also in the forest are large and small lakes, swamps, and 

 curious circular hollows with regularly formed banks, some 

 of the latter dry and covered with moss and decayed water- 

 plants, chiefly Potamogeton (sp. ?), and some having pools of 

 water in the middle. These appear to form a winding chain 

 through the woods, being joined by swamps or by dry water- 

 worn trenches. Round the lakes the forest stands like a wall, 

 the stems of the frees bleached by sun and water and marked 

 with constant friction of drift wood, the height of former 

 floods being distinctly traced six or seven feet up from their 

 bases. It is in the broken stumps or prostrate trunks the 

 Smews breed ; and the only set of eggs and down we got was 

 brought to us by a peasant Avho had found it in the former 

 situation. We saw many pairs of Smews during our visit 

 to Habariki, on the pools on the large marsh and on the 

 woodland lakes ; but we did not meet with them elsewhere 

 on our trip. 



Mergus castor (L.). 



One pair of Goosanders was distinctly identified by Harvie 

 Brown on the waters of the marsh behind Habariki. These 

 were the only specimens seen about which there can be no 

 doubt, though a good many more were seen too far out for 

 perfectly satisfactory identification. 



Mergus serrator (L.). 



The first bird of this species was seen by Harvie Brown at 

 the lakes on the tundra to the south of the Yooshina river. 

 He fired at it and wounded it severely. They were after- 

 wards seen by him on six different occasions, and perfectly 



