184 A Birds' -Nesting Ramble in Lapland. 



ducks and drakes with theii' young, with one brood of 

 Long-tailed Ducks^ Black Guillemots, Pted-throated Divers, 

 and various Gulls fairly covered the smooth surface of the 

 fiord, and their cries were deafening in the still night air. 

 In the woods Fieldfares, Redwings^ Bramblings, and Willow- 

 Grouse abounded, and I saw many fledged young of the three 

 former species. 



In a naturalist's shop in Tromso were many beautiful 

 specimens of Bar-tailed Godwits in their rich red summer 

 plumage. My servant told me he shot them regularly during 

 the spring migration. How strange it is that they should 

 he so seldom found in the breeding-season ! Trinus also had 

 Grey Phalaropes, in their red summer dress, which he had 

 shot in Spitzbergen the year before. On July 9th I visited 

 some of the islands lying off Bodo ; but the season for eggs 

 was now nearly over, and, with the exception of one nest of 

 Richardson's Skua, with two eggs, many of the Arctic Tern, and 

 one nest of the Rock-Pipit with three eggs, we got nothing. 

 A pair of Turnstones evidently had their young here. One 

 thing which struck me as peculiar in the habits of the 

 northern-breeding birds was the large clutches of eggs laid 

 by such species as Bramblings, Bluethroats, Willow-Wrens, 

 Fieldfares, Redwings, Shrikes, Wheatcars, &c. Nearly all the 

 nests contained as many as six eggs, and it was not unusual 

 to find seven; one nest of a Redstart had eight eggs. 



In concluding my rambling notes, I take this opportunity of 

 thanking Professor Collett for giving me a copy of his excel- 

 lent paper on the " Ornithology of Northern Norway." I 

 have carefully endeavoured to convey exactly what I saw, 

 and I may add that this paper is little more than a repro- 

 duction of what I jotted down at the actual time of obser- 

 vation. This, I hope, will give it freshness; and although 

 there may not be any thing novel, I trust there may still be 

 found something interesting, and perhaps useful, to future 

 naturalists visiting that portion of East Finmark known as 

 Tanadalen. 



