96 Mr. A. Newton on Mr. J. Wolley's Discovery 



Ludwig snared the old bird — a beautiful cock ; and you may fancy 

 with what pleasure I took it in my hand, and saw that there were 

 no doubts remaining. Indeed, I had before been pretty con- 

 fident about it : Ludwig had written that I might be quite 

 satisfied that it was the right bird. Martin Pekka had the pic- 

 ture with him at Sodankyla, and as soon as he came back Ludwig 

 compared the bird with it, and made certainty doubly sure. The 

 other picture went to Gellivara. * * * I do not expect Wax- 

 wings in that quarter. You can fancy how eagerly I waited for 

 Ludwig to produce the eggs. With a trembling hand he 

 brought them out : but first the nest, beautifully preserved ; it is 

 made principally of black 'tree-hair' (lichen), with dried Spruce 

 twigs outside, partially lined with a little sheep's- grass and one 

 or two feathers, — a large deep nest. The eggs — beautiful ! — 

 magnificent ! ! — just the character of the American bird. An 

 indescribable glow of colour about them ! Ludwig had made 

 for them such a box, that even if a horse trod upon it it would 

 not break. He tells me he happened to say that they were 

 most like ' Sawi-rastas' (Common Thrush), and any one wishing 

 to cheat should try that. The report seems to have spread, 

 without the name of its originator being given ; for in a week or 

 two after, the notorious Sallanki Johan brought a Korwa-rastas 

 (Waxwing), ' shot from the nest,' with its eggs, — the eggs being, 

 as Ludwig at once saw, Common Thrush's. The next incident 

 was the arrival of Johau's brother, the still more notorious Niku, 

 but this time with a couple of young birds scarcely able to fly, 

 which he had caught, as he said, out of a brood of five, by Pal- 

 las-tunturi. One of these Ludwig has stuiFed, and a rare little 

 beauty it is ; the other was much knocked about, and Ludwig 

 made nothing of it. Then a little girl, just ten days ago, 

 brought three eggs from the other side of Nalima (about twenty- 

 five miles from here), which she said were taken on a certain 

 day in July, and were ' KukhainenJ They were undoubted Wax- 

 wing, but are very badly blown by her as they were just hatch- 

 ing. At midsummer, Sardio Michel brought in a small batch 

 of Sidensvans, with the birds (four in number) to each nest. 

 So now I have a series, though but a very short one, of this 7-ara 

 avis in terris — this forerunner of famine, and of infinite value 



