2i6 SIBERIA IN EUROPE. 



CIIAI'. XVIII. 



and 23£ ; the lengths of the middle toes 5'] 5 and 6*1. Our 

 eggs of Bewick's swan were about 3-V inches long. We have 

 eggs of other swans, doubtless of the large species, which 

 measure 4-'^ > 4-^, 4 T 4 1T , and 4-^ inches ; these measurements 

 make it seem probable that exceptionally large eggs of 

 Bewick's swan might be of the same size as exceptionally 

 small eggs of the common wild swan. The eggs appear to 

 vary very little in shape. 



That afternoon I took a walk on the island, armed with 

 my stick gun. The birds were extremely tame. The yellow- 

 headed wagtail seemed more abundant than ever. Beed 

 buntings also were common. I got a shot at a swan, but the 

 distance was a trifle too great. The weather was very hot, 

 and the mosquitoes were swarming. Our home-made mos- 

 quito veils proved a great success; they and our cavalry 

 gauntlets just made life bearable in these Arctic regions; 

 still we longed for the cold winds back again to expel the 

 plague of blood-sucking insects. Veils are necessary evils, 

 but they interfere sadly with work, and increase much the 

 difficulty of finding the shot birds through the long grass. 



The next morning a swan's egg made us an excellent 

 omelette for breakfast, after which I turned out for half an 

 hour amongst the willows to shoot a few yellow-headed 

 wagtails. They abounded on the marshy ground. 1 also 

 secured two or three redpoles, some reed buntings, and a 

 plmlarope. 



We set sail at noon, with a north-east wind, to visit the 

 tundra eight or ten versts higher up the great river. For 

 some distance before w r e landed the coast was very flat, with 

 willows down to the water's edge. Amongst these dwarf trees 



