388 TRAVELS OF A NATURALIST 



nest contained four eggs. It was placed on the top of a 

 low conical mound on the sloping bank below the level of 

 the tundra, which is here about 90 feet above the river, 

 amongst a patch of bright green grass, in a hollow scraped 

 in the earth. I went afterwards with him to try and 

 shoot the bird, and fired thrice ineffectually. We took 

 one egg, leaving the others till later. 



On the way we came upon two Dotterels, the first 

 we have seen, close to our house. To-morrow, with 

 Simeon's assistance, we propose to make a search for the 

 nest. 



June 27. 



On Sunday, the 27th of June, after a long sleep, we set 

 out for a day on the tundra. 



We first visited the Peregrine's eyrie again, and failing 

 to get a shot at her leaving the nest, Piottuch tied up his 

 faithful hound ' Isaak ' (faithful, I believe, only as long 

 as anything remains in the pot useless cur /) close to the 

 nest, and we waited a long time for the chance of a 

 shot if the birds stooped at the black invader. But 

 Isaak proved as useless to us in this matter as in all 

 others. 



We left the eggs, and Seebohm and I went to a Stint's 

 nest he had found yesterday, from which I shot the bird, 

 which proved to be only Temminck's. 



Nests of Bluethroat and Mealy Redpoll were found, 

 and some ' Kouropatki ' shot. 



Seebohm, who had felt rather seedy, went towards the 

 hut, and made a collection of the flowers of the tundra, 

 and I and our faithful Samoyede struck across the higher 

 ground fringing the coast south of the huts. We took a 

 Willow Grouse's nest of thirteen eggs on the way, and on 

 another green mound we found a second Peregrine's 

 eyrie, the female flying off the nest, and the male rising 

 from a neighbouring ridge. Simeon went to the nest, 



