Birds of the Upper Muonio River. 77 



dearth and shitted their quarters accordingly. A Lapp 

 brought us in a clutch of eggs from Tuoipala in Norway on 

 the 20th of June. 



Circus cyaneus. Hen-Harrier. 



Sparingly distributed along the river. We saw a pair just 

 below the 69th degree of latitude and found a nest in 

 lat. 68° 45'. The birds arrived at Ainettivaara on the 

 14th of May. 



Buteo lagopus. Rough-legged Buzzard. 



Very common, especially in the mountain-districts. We 

 found over forty nests. The birds had already arrived on 

 the 23rd of April, and on the 25th I saw a pair building. 

 This nest, the first that we observed, had four eggs on the 

 15th of May. Four appears to be the usual number, though 

 three often composed the clutch and at times we found five. 

 As nesting takes place when the ground is still covered with 

 snow, it is possible to determine the likely sites from a 

 distance of several miles ; and once the cliffs are approached 

 the birds betray the existence of the nest by flying round and 

 screaming. The female is conspicuously larger than the 

 male and her cry deeper and hoarser. The eggs were laid 

 between the 15th and the 25th of May. The same breeding- 

 place is occupied year after year, several old nests being often 

 found close to the new. In one case I found the structure 

 overthrown by an avalanche, the eggs lying unbroken in 

 the snow beneath the cliff. The birds had constructed a 

 second nest in the old spot, where the female was sitting 

 on three eggs. The sites are usually fairly easy of access, 

 except for the danger of slippery ice-slopes. 



I took a clutch of five eggs from the same nest from which 

 I had obtained a young bird in 1895. This bird is still alive 

 and has laid eggs in captivity. 



Aquila chrysaetus. Golden Eagle. 



We saw immature birds in June, and in April a pair began 

 to nest near Leveavuopio, but were turned out by a pair of 

 Rough-legged Buzzards. This species is very rare in the 

 district. 



