FEEDING AT NIGHT. 



looks black with them; nevertheless, in those ye$rs I 

 never found the berries themselves in the crop of the Kip -i, 

 but only the stalks and leaves. After producing fruits in 

 such abundance, the crakeberry plant would seem to 

 require some time for rest, inasmuch as during the 

 succeeding year scarcely a berry is to be seen on it. 

 The Ripa would therefore be badly off, if its taste only 

 permitted it to feed on the berry and not on the stalk. 

 Another instance of the wise foresight of Natim-." 



According to M. Barth, the Fjiill-Ripa, as with the 

 Dal-Ripa, feeds in the night-time during the winter; and 

 for that purpose descends the fjiills somewhat, though 

 never so low down as to be within the limits of arborous 

 vegetation.* " When one is abroad of a winter's morning 

 before dawn," he says, "one not un frequently hears the 

 peculiar burring or murmuring sound made by the Fjiill- 

 Ripa on the middle slopes of the fjiill ; but as davli^lit 

 increases, the sound becomes more and more indistinct, 

 owing to their gradually ascending higher and higher; 

 and when it is full daylight, by which time they have 

 reached the summit of the fjiills, it is no longer audible. 

 From the tracks left by- the Fjiill-Ripa after these 

 nocturnal excursions, one sees that they have mostly 

 wandered amongst the birch and willow bushes, just abo\ e 

 the limits of arborous vegetation, and the tops of which 

 they have eaten off. But they would not appear to resort 

 to this kind of food excepting when the snow lias pre- 

 vented them from obtaining access to the crakeberry." 



The Fjiill-Ripa lives in monogamy, but I have an 



* "As an i-\ri-|itinii it may lie mentions 1, that in o<-rt.ain local it ii-s win-re 

 tin- nuiuiit-iiiis slop- j-i-.ulimlly down t.> 111.' son, and arc d.-nudrd of i;ra 

 and trees for tin- latti-r of wliirli the Ki:ill Ki|':i would sri-iri to i-iit<Tlain 



fear and aversion th.-.- I. ml- may .., -rationally 1"- s.-cn at dawn only so 



hundred feet :ilov.- tin- .-MM l.-v,-l. It i- not, li,,,-\ ,-r, < mum fur 



tin-in to ili-M-i-iul thn- far, and lat.-r in tin- day tlii-y ni.>-tly rrinux.- liisjlirr up. 



