

THE GKAY PHALAROPE, ETC. 163 



word blis signifies a blaze on the forehead, generally 

 applied to horses. The nest of the coot is made 

 among reeds, in the middle of a sheet of water, and 

 contains from eight to twelve dingy grayish -yellow 

 eggs, marked with dark spots. 



The gray phalarope (Phalarorus lobatus). Like the 

 coot, this bird is lobe-footed, and is an excellent 

 swimmer. It is by no means uncommon in this coun- 

 try, and has been frequently shot in Finmark and 

 Nordland. It breeds in the north, and on the coast 

 there, it is frequently observed swimming on the sea, 

 at a considerable distance from the land. 



The red-necked phalarope (P. hyperboreus) is not 

 so common as the preceding, but is also found in 

 Norwegian Lapland. The nest is generally made by 

 a tuft of grass near the water, and contains four small 

 yellowish eggs, covered with dark -brown spots. It is 

 called in Lapland wesitiainen, or water- sparrow. 



The woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) is common in the 

 woods round Throndjem, Bergen, and Christiania, 

 where it breeds. It arrives here in the beginning of 

 April, and migrates in November. It is called here 

 skovsneppe, or wood-snipe. Mr. Lloyd confirms the 

 statement of the woodcock transporting her young 

 from one place to another : " Once, during a hare- 

 hunt, I myself shot a woodcock, flushed by the dogs, 

 when flying at about six feet from the ground, that 

 was bearing an unfledged young one in her claws. It 

 seemed to me she grasped it by the wings, one foot 

 having hold of the one wing, and the other foot of the 

 other ; though, in consequence of intervening boughs, 

 I did not observe the old bird when she rose, I was 

 fortunately so near to her as clearly to see what I have 



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