•480 Mr. H. F. Witherby 07i Birds 



cristata from Kandalax (Mela) as well as from near Kola 

 (Pleskc) ; Merpis merganser (Lawrow and Mela) and Mergus 

 albeUus (Lawrow) from Kandalax.] 



Lagopus albus. 



The Willow-Grouse was fairly common all along our 

 route. Two male birds shot near Kola on July 27th had a 

 number of white feathers on the underparts^ and a few on 

 the back and wing-coverts. At this time of year one would 

 expect the Willow-Grouse to be attaining its winter plumage ; 

 but on examination the very opposite w^as found to be the 

 case with these two birds, which had not yet attained their 

 summer plumage. All the white feathers were clearly 

 old feathers of the winter before. In the far north I believe 

 Willow-Grouse often retain part of their winter plumage 

 during the whole summer, but these two birds were in full 

 moult, and the new feathers, which were sprouting all over the 

 tody, were all summer feathers. The toes were not altogether 

 bare of feathers and the claws were exceedingly long. No 

 doubt the lateness of the season accounted for the strange 

 state of the plumage of these birds, but how long would they 

 retain their summer plumage ? A week after we shot these 

 birds new snow had fallen on the hills and the autumn had 

 commenced. On July 29th, at Kola, we found four broods 

 of but a few days old. 



[Pleske records Lagopus mutus from the mountains near 

 the Imandra (Sahlberg and Malmberg) and MiddendorfF 

 from the neighbouring districts.] 



BoNASA BETULINA. 



The only specimen of the Hazel-Grouse we saw was shot 

 near Bella Guba on the Imandra. Pleske considered its 

 occurrence so far north as the Imandra as uncertain. 



Tetrao urogallus. 



Capercaillie were common from Kandalax to Pulozero, 

 north of which we did not observe them. We found chicks 

 of a day or two old on July 24tli. 



[Pleske records Tetrao tetrix from Kandalax and the 

 Imandra, and gives the Imandra as the northern limit of 



