PETCHORA 329 



Chiffchaff, resulting in Seebohm seeing one bird and 

 hearing its alarm-note and making the observation that 

 when silent it is an uncommonly active and restless 

 species. It must be very scarce here, whatever it is 

 where Meves found it. 



Seebohm made some good notes on the song of the 

 Bluethroat, which, next to the Willow Warbler, is the 

 most abundant species of warbler in the woods here. 

 They are generally distributed wherever suitable ground 

 is to be found in the opener pine- woods, where there is a 

 thick undergrowth of juniper, and where the sweet-smel- 

 ling rhododendron-like plant is growing (Sedum). Juniper, 

 however, seems their favourite plant. The males perch 

 conspicuously on the tops of the low pines (spruces), but 

 the females are difficult to see, as they creep about 

 amongst the juniper, and seldom perch high. By sitting 

 down and quietly waiting, listening, and occasionally 

 scanning the tops of the spruces through my glass, I 

 succeeded in bagging three males to-day. As yet we 

 have only seen one female. 



We have, we think, nearly exhausted the bird-capa- 

 bilities of Ust Zylrna,* and are beginning to long for a 

 further move down the river. But the ice still floats 

 rapidly past on the river, and prevents us from even 

 visiting the opposite shore, where amongst the birch and 

 alder we might perhaps pick up another couple of 

 Siberian Tits and a few Three-toed Woodpeckers, and 

 possibly add another Woodpecker or two to our list. 



Seebohm went out in the afternoon to the north end of 

 the town, and in a small piece of marshy, hummocky, 

 tundra-like ground, found a lot of Red-throated Pipits 

 and shot ten out of the flock ; and he also killed two 

 Sandpipers, one Ring Dotterel, one Temminck's Stint, 



::: N.B. Don't write up your journal in the middle of the day. 

 Wait till evening. 



