52 SIBERIA IN EUROPE. chap. v. 



much smaller numbers than those of the snow-bunting. 

 Many of the males were besrinning to assume the carmine 

 breast, showing great promise of beauty when the full 

 summer plumage should be attained. AVe were informed 

 that these birds arrived about the same time as the snow- 

 bunting. On the outskirts of the town we met with a few 

 -mall parties of yellow-hammers,* and occasionally heard 

 their familiar song. These birds are probably also migra- 

 tory. They were comparatively rare, and as we never 

 saw any farther north, we may assume Ust-Zylma to 

 be about the extreme limit of their summer range. The 

 forests were remarkably silent. Often there was not a 

 bird to be seen for miles. Once or twice we had a distant 

 glimpse of a Siberian jay, a marsh tit, or a bullfinch, 

 but we did not succeed in obtaining a shot. On the whole 

 our first week in Ust-Zylma was not very encouraging 

 from an ornithological point of view. After eight days' 

 work our list of identified birds in the valley of the 

 Petchora stool as follows: — 



former. In winter this species is found * The yellow-hammer (Emheriza ci- 



at different times throughout the whole trinella, Linn.) is a '"1111111111 resident 



ntral and Southern Europe, occa- '-n the British Islands, as in nmst parts 



sionally straying across th>- Mi-.litt-r- of Central Kuropc. Northwards it is 



ranean. Eastwards it wanders as far a summer migrant, and in South Europe 



as Turkestan, Southern Siberia, North ■'"> • North Africa it is principally 



China an i Japan. On the American secured in winter. The records of its 



continent it winters in Smith Canada occurrence east of the valley of the Obb 



and the northern States. We did not appear to be unreliable. In the valley 



observe this Bpecies in the valley of "' the Petchora we did not observe 



the Petchora farther north than lati- it north of latitude 6£ 



tilde G8°. 



