230 BRITISH BIRDS. 
also much more resembles in the colour of its eggs. Its call-note is very 
similar to that of the Meadow-Pipit, but is rather louder and a little baser 
in tone. It is very decidedly a swamp-bird, being rarely seen on the dry, 
grassy hills or on the rocky slopes. 
In the valley of the Petchora Harvie-Brown and I found it very abun- 
dant. At Ust Zylma it arrived a couple of days after the sudden break- 
up of winter, together with the Golden Plover, Fieldfare, Redwing, Grey- 
headed Yellow Wagtail, Lapland Bunting, &c., on the 17th of May, a 
week later than the Swans, Geese, and Shore-Larks, and a week earlier 
than the Stints and Sandpipers. They were in small parties, generally 
flying up wind, the bright sun glancing on their breasts, enabling us easily 
to identify them. ‘They seemed to be in a hurry to get to their breeding- 
grounds, and rarely alighted to feed. During twelve days we only suc- 
ceeded in shooting now and then an odd bird. On the 29th of May the 
wind was nearly eastand warm. In the afternoon it was very hot, but there 
had been a smart frost during the night. We turned out at five, and worked 
hard till ten without getting a bird. I had taken down notes of the songs 
of the Arctic Bluethroat and the Siberian Chiffchaff, but otherwise had an 
empty bag. After breakfast and a pipe in our hammocks, I turned out 
again along the banks of the Petchora, which was then full, almost to 
overflowing. On “ Vautre cété” (as Piottuch and we always called the west 
bank) it had in many places overflowed, and we could see some square 
miles of willow and birch forest under water. I bagged a brace of Wood- 
Sandpipers and a Ring-Dotterel, and then crossed a sandbank to a marshy 
pool, where numerous frogs or toads were croaking in a muffled tone like 
bubbling water; they were extremely shy, and hid themselves in the 
mud at my approach. After waiting some time, three noses appeared 
above the water. I fired, but without effect on the reptiles; but started 
seven or eight Sandpipers and a Red-throated Pipit. I went in pursuit of 
the latter bird, and found myself upon a flat marshy piece of ground 
covered with hillocks of grass almost close to each other. Many Pipits 
were sitting in the narrow trenches between these hillocks, and rose at my 
feet on all sides as I walked on, and very soon half a dozen were within 
thirty paces of me. I chose a double shot, reloaded, and, as I walked up 
to my birds, actually rose two or three Pipits between me and them; 
they had allowed themselves to be shot over, but evidently objected to be 
walked over. Unfortunately I had only two cartridges left, so I shot 
another brace and returned to our quarters for more ammunition. Once 
again on the marsh I found the Pipits still there, and bagged half a 
dozen more. My attention was then taken off for some time in secur- 
ing a Sparrow-Hawk, the only specimen we shot in the Petchora. A 
couple of days afterwards we twice cressed the same piece of ground, 
but did not see a bird; they had evidently been resting after a long 
