chap. vr. 



UMSKIA. 



59 



perched upon the summit of a lofty larch. Occasionally 

 two or three redpoles were to be seen, and at long intervals 

 daring the day a pair of bullfinches put in an appearance. 

 We saw a pair of white-tailed eagles* soaring over the 

 forest, but they never came within gun-shot. The day was 

 cold, with only occasional gleams of sunshine and continual 

 threatenings of snow, and no birds seemed to be feeding. 

 We took a long walk on the road, and made several excur- 

 sions into the forest and down the river on snow-shoes, but 

 scarcely a bird was to be seen. At this season of the year 

 it would seem that the most absolute silence reigns in these 

 drear Siberian forests. In the afternoon we tightened up our 

 " pavoska," and so far succeeded in restoring the centre of 

 gravity that we returned home without a spill. We saw 

 only two birds either in going or returning, a Siberian jay 

 in going, and a capercailzie f in returning. 



* The white-tailed eagle (Ilaliae- 

 tos albicilla, Linn.) appears to be con- 

 fined to the eastern hemisphere and 

 Greenland, and is still occasionally 

 found in the British Islands. It 

 breeds in suitable localities through- 

 out Europe and North Africa. East- 

 ward it breeds throughout Siberia, and 

 is occasionally met with in India and 

 China. We frequently saw eagles both 

 at Ust-Zylma and on our journey down 

 the river. On the tundra we occasion- 

 ally saw them as far north as we went. 

 At Habariki we saw an eagle with a 

 brown tail, which may have been a 

 bird of the year of this species or an 

 adult golden eagle (Aquila chnjsactos, 

 Linn.). 



f The capercailzie (Tctrao urogallus, 

 Linn.) formerly inhabited the British 

 Islands, afterwards became extinct, but 

 has of late years been reintroduced into 

 Scotland with great success. Where it 

 has not been exterminated it is still 

 an inhabitant of the pine regions of 

 Europe and Asia as far east as Lake 

 Baikal, where it appears to be re- 

 placed by a nearly allied species, Tetrao 

 urogalloides (Midd.). In the valley of 

 the Petchora the hen-birds of this 

 species formed an important article of 

 our diet. The peasants were glad to 

 sell them at sevenpence each. The 

 male bird is eaten freely by the Samo- 

 yedes, but is despised by the Russians 

 as coarse eating. 



