I7S .Ml-. II. V. Witherl))' u/i Birds 



The scni-citv ol" l)ir(ls in tins country greatly disappointed 

 n.-;. During the first two-thirds oi" o^ir journey the coiuitry 

 might he said to consist half oi' lakes and rivers, and half of 

 pine-1'orest, with here and there a marsh. The lakes and 

 rivers, although often dotted with islands, were singularly 

 devoid of bird-life, while the interminable pine forests 

 were nearly as destitute. Even the maishes, few and 

 far between, were disappointing. Often we trudged six or 

 eight miles to some marsh of which the Lapps had told us, 

 and after tramping over it the whole day would see nothing 

 but a couple of Whimbrcl, a Wood-Sandpiper, and perhaps 

 a Cireenshank, although the marsh looked as if it ought to 

 be a perfect paradise for birds. Only two of all the many 

 marshes we explored were |)roduetive of a fair day's collecting. 



The further north we proceeded the thinner the forests 

 became, and there tlie l)irds increased somewhat, but they 

 were nowhere abundant. It maybe that in a normal season 

 the country contains more birds than it did in 1899, but it 

 is difficult to imagine that birds are ever moi'C than thinly 

 scattered over the interior of Russian Lapland. 



As I have already mentioned, the lateness of the season 

 caused us many delays, and consequently we were too late 

 for eggs by the time we arrived in the interior. Before we 

 left England and again at Vardo we debated as to wliether 

 it would not be better to work from north to south, but had 

 we done so we should have fared worse ; for, owing to the 

 deep and soft snow, the country in the north is quite impass- 

 able even at the end of June. However, some consolation 

 for the drawbacks of the season was derived in observing 

 the effects it produced on birds. These effects were especially 

 marked in the north. For instance, Willow-Grouse had not 

 yet attained full summer plumage at the very end of July, 

 and fresh eggs of many birds were to be found at the begin- 

 ning of August, by wiiich time the mosquitoes had died, the 

 berries were ripe, new^ snow had already fallen on the hills, 

 and another winter had almost commenced. 



As this particular portion of La[)land does not seem to 

 have been visited before by British oi-nithologists, 1 have 



