1 92 1.] B'rds in South Bitssia. 455 



their quarters to the mess, being unable to stand upright. 

 (I. may remark that this did not happen after dinner !) One 

 of our motor cyclists was once blown into the sea with his 

 machine while proceeding along the shore-road. 



My brother and I used to venture up the hillsides in 

 search of birds when the nor'easter was blowing, in the hope 

 of falling in with some of the rarer species which might be 

 driven down from the mountains, but the birds were generally 

 all congregated in the lower valleys and about the houses 

 at such times, and we seldom saw anything except an occa- 

 sional Woodcock or a few Goldfinches, which seemed to stand 

 the cold better than most other birds. Whilst scramblino- 

 about the slopes on those expeditions, clad in great coats 

 and fur caps, and grasping the trees and bushes with one 

 hand wdiilst the other held a gun, we would hear every few 

 minutes a roar, like that of an express train, heralding the 

 approach of an especially violent gust as it came tearino- 

 down from the hill-tops, driving clouds of snow before it. 

 We would then cling with both hands to a tree-trunk until 

 it swept down past us, the snow first blotting out the town 

 below and then billowing away across the waters of the bay, 

 which would bo lashed into flying spray. 



The periods of these winds were usually follow^ed by mild 

 summer-like spells, during which the great flocks of Duck, 

 which had been brought down to the bay by the cold, would 

 gradually dwindle and disappear to inland waters. Towards 

 the end of March the duck became so weak and tame during 

 the storms that they would take shelter in the streets of the 

 town and allow themselves to be captured by hand or 

 knocked over with stones. Bramblings and other small 

 birds also suffered greatly from the cold. 



Most of my observations were made on the eastern side of 

 the bay and in the bay itself, where we used to shoot Duck 

 frequently. This sport was rendered somewhat exciting by 

 the fact that the Russian soldiers shot at the Duck with rifles 

 from the shore to such an extent that one might almost have 

 imagined at times that a sharp engagement was in progress. 

 When duck-shooting we used to keep our hands in our gloves 



SER. XI. — VOL. Ill, '2 11 



