SNOW BUNTING 167 



and above the birches and willows, among the loose stones 

 and fallen crags, where the snow still lies in large patches, 

 or away to the north on the wild tundra, not above but 

 beyond the limit of forest-growth, surrounded by rivers 

 and swamps and lakes and bogs, amongst the piles of 

 drift-wood that strew the banks of the mighty rivers, or 

 the half-rotten logs which lie above high-water mark on the 

 shores of the Arctic Ocean, left there ages ago, when the 

 sea-level was much higher than it is now, are the breeding- 

 places of this bird." 



The eggs, from four to six in number, are greenish or 

 bluish white, encircled at the thicker end with irregular 

 brown spots, and many blots of pale purple ; they are 

 rather round and obtuse in form. Meyer mentions one 

 in the possession of Mr. Hancock, of Newcastle, marked 

 all over with spots of a reddish and purple hue. 



