34 TRAVELS OF A NATURALIST 



were infested with ants, by which we got bitten. The 

 birds of two nests were shot two on Saturday and one 

 to-day. 



The eggs as before noted were of a darker green 

 shade of ground colour than those of the Chaffinch, which 

 are more creamy tinted. All blew fresh except the nest 

 of seven, one of which was an addled egg with imperfect 

 shell. This egg I broke in blowing. They had been 

 incubated about a week. 



The nests of the Fieldfare we took to-day were situated 

 in both fir, birch, and other trees at about 5 to 20 feet 

 from the ground. In the colony there were about, say, 

 twenty pairs of Fieldfares, and the nests were pretty wide 

 apart, occupying a small wood of about 2J acres in area, 

 and in which Redwings, Bramblings, and Chaffinches 

 were also breeding. The Fieldfares' eggs were mostly 

 fresh, or nearly so, though in one or two nests were about 

 a week incubated. Other nests were found with nearly- 

 hatched young, and others with only one or two eggs. 

 In the first and third nests taken, by Alston and myself 

 respectively, no less than six eggs were found, one of 

 those in the latter being slightly rotten, the others quite 

 fresh. The eggs show considerable variety. 



From this wood we walked to Tvinde, where we had 

 ' brod og smaer og rnelk,' and hired a ' stol-kjaere ' 

 (cart with chair on wooden springs) for our journey 

 home. 



We got a mount on Norsk ponies from two sons of the 

 farmer from whom we had got the boat, and had a ride for 

 an English mile or so. Alston's mount had a very peculiar 

 amble, but they got along at a very good pace, especially 

 downhill. They seemed, as Alston remarked, wonderfully 

 short before the saddle when one is on them, and have no 

 more mouth than a pig". 



