Oological Journey to Russia. 155 



island, Goft, where birds are most plentiful. Onourarriva 

 we found a dozen fishermen who had been camping there 

 for three days, and as they had evidently been living to a 

 large extent on eggs (judging from the quantity of shells 

 near their camp-fire), none were left, though we saw many 

 birds. This island was about three-quarters of a mile 

 long, rocky and sandy, with a few bushes in the middle. 

 Here we saw a pair of Greenshanks which had evideutly 

 been nesting, but of course we found no eggs. We then 

 went to the second and rather smaller island some distance 

 away. This was also composed of sand and heavy stones, 

 with grass and low bushes in many places, and here we found 

 jEgialitis hiaticula, Strepsilas interpres, Motacilla alba, 

 CEdemia fusca, Sterna jluviatilis, Larus canus, and Larus 

 cachinnans, many of them with eggs. Altogether there are 

 three uninhabited islands in the group, but we did not visit 

 the third and smallest, as we returned to Kunda for supper. 

 The next day we spent in skinning the birds and blowing the 

 eggs that we had obtained at the Goft Islands ; in the evening 

 we returned to Wesenberg. Mr. Buturlin is not an egg- 

 collector, but he had a small collection which had been made 

 at the mouth of the Petchora River by a young naval officer, 

 Mr. Novosilltzeff, out of which he kindly gave me a clutch 

 of eggs of Squatarola helvetica and two eggs of Cygnus 

 bewicki. 



Baron Harald Loudon had invited us to spend a few 

 days at his place in Livonia, so we left Wesenberg on 

 the evening of the 10th of June and arrived at Wolmar 

 early the next morning. Here we had a pleasant drive of 

 about two hours through a pretty and well-wooded country 

 to Lisden, the Baron's estate, in his carriage, a regular 

 Russian equipage with four horses abreast. Baron Loudon 

 has travelled much in Trauscaspia and Central Asia, and has 

 a very large and rich collection of Palsearctic bird-skins and 

 one room filled with mounted birds, while there are horns in 

 most of the sitting-rooms. The Baron has an interesting- 

 collection of photographs taken by himself on his journeys 

 and a considerable number of curiosities of various kinds. 



