173 Mr. A. C. Chiipniau's Birds' -Nesting 



inches down, was a mass of dusky white down, Avith the six 

 bkiish-green egg's. No bird was about, and the eggs were cold, 

 but quite fresh. The stump was at the top of a very steep bank, 

 perhaps 150 feet from the river, but certainly not more than 

 40 feet perpendicularly above the water. When wandering 

 in the bircli-forests, we observed a Great Spotted Woodpecker 

 {Picus major), and shortly after Trinus saw a Pine- Grosbeak. 

 1 secured both, and then we commenced to look for the 

 nests, which we were lucky in finding close together. It was 

 merely a question of looking for a thick enough tree to find 

 the Woodpecker's nest. The first thick-stemmed tree con- 

 tained the nest, and I caught the hen bird on it; she had 

 just hatched her four eggs, so I released her. The Gros- 

 beak's nest, similar to the one already desci'ibed, contained 

 four eggs. Presently the male Grosbeak came up, a hand- 

 some scarlet-plvimaged bird. I never heard these birds utter 

 the slightest note; they seemed to seek safety by sitting 

 perfectly motionless on an open branch, and allowed easy 

 approach. The hen was a greyish-green bird. 



A very pretty Willow-Grouse, in adult summer plumage, 

 which I shot to-day in Hussian Finland, had an egg ready 

 for laying in her oviduct. A Siberian Titmouse (Parits 

 cinctus), flying out of an old Woodpecker's hole, made me 

 sure ol: a nest and eggs, and I secured her instantly, but was 

 disappointed to find nothing but dry chips and no eggs at 

 the bottom. The bird was a round flufty ball of hairy fea- 

 thers, with a rather long blue tail, and was the only example 

 I saw of this species. Titlarks were very abundant, and 

 the nests were everywhere to be found now. A large flock 

 of Common Scoters rose as we came down the Pulmakelf to- 

 night. To-day was dull, but not cold, and in the evening we 

 had sunshine, which afterwards proved to be the beginning 

 of that continual radiance which characterizes the three 

 months' summer season in these latitudes. 



June 17th. A Qvane girl brought in the dark-coloured 

 down and eight eggs of what she termed " Kriksa," i. e. 

 Teal {Querquedula crecca), which she had taken that morning 

 at the edge of a large lake a little way from Pulmak. She 



