296 



SIBERIA IN EUROPE. 



CHAP. XXIII. 



conception. Birds go to the Arctic regions to breed, not by 

 thousands, but by millions. The cause of this migration is 

 to be found in the lavish prodigality with which Nature has 

 provided food. Seed- or fruit-eating birds find an imme- 

 diate and abundant supply of cranberries, crowberries, and 

 other ground fruit, which have remained frozen during the 

 long winter, and are accessible the moment the snow has 

 melted ; whilst insect-eating birds have only to open their 

 mouths to fill them with mosquitoes. 



Of the 110 species which we obtained, the following are 

 circumpolar birds breeding both in the eastern and western 

 hemispheres, being nearly one-third of the total number : — 



Osprey. 



Peregrine Falcon. 

 Snowy Owl. 

 Short-eared Owl. 

 Raven. 



Pine Grosbeak. 

 Mealy Redpole. 

 Lapland Bunting. 

 Snow Bunting. 

 Shore-Lark. 

 Bohemian Waxwing 

 Sin m1 Martin. 

 Willow-Grouse. 

 Grey Plover. 

 Red-necked Phalarope. 

 Curlew Sandpiper. 



Dunlin. 

 Sanderling. 

 Shoveller Duck. 

 Pintail Duck. 

 Scaup Duck. 

 Golden-eyed Duck. 

 Long-tailed Duck. 

 Goosander. 



Red-breasted Merganser. 

 Arctic Tern. 



Great Black -backed Gull. 

 Glaucous Gull. 

 Richardson's Skua. 

 Button's Skua. 

 Red-throated Diver. 

 Black-throated Diver. 



It will be observed that more than half of these species 

 are water birds, showing that the communication between 

 the Palrearctic and the Nearctie regions has been one of 

 water rather than of land. 



The following species are confined to the continents of 



