130 SIBERIA IN EUROPE. CHAP. xn. 



its back, with a half-eaten sparrow beside it. Some wag- 

 tails remained perched upon the railing behind which the 

 hawk had retired to finish the devouring of its prey. They 

 uttered cries, which might be interpreted either as doubting 

 the supposed escape of their foe, or as a paean of rejoicing 

 over its downfall. The sight of their enemy lying motion- 

 less on its back rendered them deaf to the sound of my gun, 

 and blind to my presence. They remained undismayed 

 within a few yards of me, not stirring until I had packed 

 away the hawk. At this juncture my companion came up. 

 He had been more fortunate than I had been, in his raid 

 upon the reptiles. He had secured a couple, which we 

 found to be a species of toad, with whitish and black spots 

 and stripes on the back. At this pool I now secured a 

 Temminck's stint, and my companion another pipit, making 

 the eleventh shot that day. For weeks we had never suc- 

 ceeded in shooting more than one out of a flock. They had 

 abounded during the last fortnight in the fields and in the 

 open ground about the town. We had seen hundreds, and 

 yet, during those two weeks, we had not secured more than 

 five males and one female ; now in a couple of hours we 

 had bagged ten males and one female out of a single 

 flock. We had found them wild, and seldom disposed to 

 settle on the ground. It was curious that these pipits 

 should have been so different from the others ; but what 

 was still more curious and interesting was their behaviour 

 during the raid we made upon them. After repeated shots, 

 bringing down several of their numbers, the remainder 

 would get up, settle on the railings, on the adjoining 



