292 TEN YEAKS IN SWEDEN. 



of the neck as well as the body darker grey-brown, with 

 pale longitudinal streaks. The feathers here have pale grey 

 ochre-yellow edges; middle of the breast and belly pale, 

 nearly white, and unspotted ; sides of the rump pale grey ; 

 tail beneath tinged with dull rusty brown ; back and shoul- 

 ders paler and more yellow-grey than in the adult bird. 

 Wings and tail exactly as I have described above in the 

 birds of the year; beak pale yellowish; head grey; legs 

 light lead coloured ; iris brown. The crop was filled with 

 blackberries and the remains of insects. 



The summer home of the waxwing, as far as we at pre- 

 sent seem to know, appears to be within the Polar circle. I 

 believe no nest has been as yet obtained farther south than 

 the one I procured at Quickiock, although I have every 

 reason to believe that they breed farther south, even as low 

 as Ostersund, in 63 north lat. About the end of autumn, 

 probably early in November but this depends upon the sea- 

 son, large flocks travel down the country, clearing off all the 

 mountain ash berries as they pass along, like a swarm of 

 locusts. These migrations do not appear altogether to be 

 regulated by the state of the weather, or the profusion of food. 

 I have, however, remarked that their first appearance in 

 Wermland preludes the first fall of snow. One thing, how- 

 ever, is certain, that of late years we have never seen such 

 flocks of waxwings in the middle of Scandinavia as we used 

 to do some few years back. In default of mountain ash 

 berries they will eat the berries of the juniper, and on their 

 return in the spring, which is usually early in April, I have 

 observed them feeding on the young rye wherever it was 

 bare. I fancy in their summer home they are chiefly insec- 

 tivorous ; in flight and habits they much resemble the star- 

 ling. Their note, according to Nilsson, in the winter is low 

 and melodious. I never (and I have had many in confine- 

 ment) knew one utter any other sound than a kind of 

 hissing twitter, which is principally heard when a flock 

 sweeps down on to the top of a rowan tree. 



The nest, which has now been obtained from many places 

 in Lapland, is built apparently in the birch as well as in 



