382 TRAVELS OF A NATURALIST 



shot one $ Grey Plover, a Buffon's Skua, and a Long- 

 tailed Duck. 



We then retraced our footsteps and joined Seebohm, 

 who had secured the female Grey Plover of the third nest. 



The word was now given, ' marscheerum tarn boat,' 

 and we started to go back. Both Seebohm and I and 

 Piottuch were faint with want of food. We ate at eleven 

 o'clock and started about twelve, and it was then past 

 9 p.m. During the interval we had not eaten anything. 

 Piottuch was suffering severely from rheumatism in his 

 left shoulder and side of the neck, but he rejoiced exceed- 

 ingly with us at our success. ' Tres bon chose, monsieur, 

 tres bon chose pour vous.' 



Plodding slowly on, another Grey Plover started up, 

 close to one of the above-mentioned tarns, and mark- 

 ing the spot, after a short search I found the nest, 

 again with four eggs. The others went on, and after 

 waiting half an hour or so I shot the female within ten 

 yards of the nest. I packed the eggs in the leather case 

 of my binocular, and after a weary drag of two versts 

 over the hummocks and through the peaty bogs, I joined 

 the rest of our party at the boat, and we returned, tired 

 but rejoicing. 



On the tundra we got two nests of Dunlins also, and 

 various nests of Lapland Buntings and Eed-throated 

 Pipits, and at one of the little marshy-edged tarns I 

 identified a Little Einged Plover. 



On a sandy spit of an island where we landed in the 

 early part of the day we found three nests of Temminck's 

 Stints, sans ceufs and saw a Little Einged Plover which 

 we believe had a nest. The Stints' nests were amongst 

 patches of wrack left by the flood, and one was quite 

 amongst the willows, deep cups lined with wrack and 

 withered grass. 



After we came in the Zyriani brought us piles of nests 



