8 TRAVELS OF A NATURALIST 



birds were haunting a sandy offshoot of the river amongst 

 osier, alder, and birch, with in the centre of the island 

 a clump of fir. The cry was, as far as I could remember, 

 similar to that of a Green Sandpiper, killed by me at 

 home last autumn, and in fact the bird was of that same 

 species. The outer tail feather had a single faint black 

 mark on the outer web. In the morning, immediately 

 after breakfast, I shot a beautiful little Pied Flycatcher. 



Alston, after his dose of skinning, also went out along 

 the river, but in another direction. He obtained a 

 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and another Pied Flycatcher. 



While out I saw old nests of Thrush and Hooded Crow, 

 and saw Great Tits and what I took to be a Willow 

 Warbler. Altogether we had not a bad day's work. 



May 13. 



On Saturday, the 13th of May, we walked to the head of 

 the Kands Fjord at Oddenaes, and returned along the river 

 (Etnadals Elv) to Skoien. Alston shot a Green Sand- 

 piper, and I a Greenshank. These last birds were going 

 in parties of three to five, and evidently not paired, but 

 the Green Sandpipers were mostly in pairs. We saw 

 about eight Greenshanks and the same number of Totanus 

 ochropus. We saw also several Black-throated Divers on 

 the Fjord, a lot of Goldeneyes, Common Sandpipers, and 

 Wheatears. We saw a very light-coloured Buzzard, and 

 also a small Hawk, either Hobby or Merlin, which 

 perched on the top of a bare post ; and which I now 

 (1900) believe to have been a Hobby. 



After lunch 1 went up the river and took a Hooded 

 Crow's nest with five eggs. The nest was in a spruce 

 fir, and was lined with wool and cow's hair. I shot 

 a fine $ Brambling. 



Alston went separately with the stick-gun, and after a 

 long hunt found Bramblings and Titmice up the hill, 



