160 THE WAXWING 



reproach, or even contempt. It must be realised, however, that there 

 are egg-collectors and egg-collectors: and that egg-collecting is an 

 essential part of the study of Ornithology, which must yield important 

 facts when seriously approached. It is, then, to the dogged persever- 

 ance of John Wolley that we owe the discovery of the breeding-place 

 of the waxwing in Europe. He spent five consecutive summers and 

 two winters in Lapland in the endeavour to solve this riddle, confident 

 of ultimate success, and undaunted by repeated failure. 



Wolley, however, did not himself discover the nest and eggs of 

 the waxwing. These prizes were obtained for him during the summer 

 of 1856 through the agency of his faithful servant Ludwig Knobloeck, 

 at Sardio, on the Kittila River, in Russian Lapland, though Wolley 

 himself was also feverishly hunting for the prize. The first nest was 

 discovered on Saturday, June 7th, by Johan of Sardio, one of a band of 

 seven lads employed by Ludwig, and though the land was still snow- 

 covered, this nest contained two eggs. Altogether about six nests and 

 twenty-nine eggs were taken during the summer, with several parent 

 birds for the sake of identification, and a young bird scarcely able to 

 fly. The next year this search was naturally renewed, but it proved 

 to be a year of great scarcity, few birds being discovered. Wolley 

 himself searched night and day, scarcely allowing himself time to 

 sleep, yet he never set eyes on a living bird, though he took one 

 deserted nest on June 16th ; his collectors, however, obtained for 

 him eight eggs. But with the summer of 1858 his luck changed. 

 An enormous number of waxwings settled for breeding through- 

 out the district which had been the scene of Wolley's researches, 

 and his collectors obtained 150 nests, producing nearly 666 eggs, 

 while about a score more were obtained by a Prussian dealer who 

 happened to be in the country. Wolley, however, did not participate 

 in this huge haul, he having gone to Iceland to search for the great 

 auk. " This same summer," remarks Professor Newton, 1 " saw an 

 Englishman accomplish what Wolley himself only partially succeeded 



1 Yarrell's British Birds, vol. i. p. 531. 



