322 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 



XXIII. Contributions to the Ornithology of Siberia. 

 By HENRY SEEBOHM. 



[Continued from p. 184.] 

 (Plate IX.) 



THE following notes on the birds of Siberia are of course 

 extremely fragmentary. It is very seldom that the first ex- 

 pedition to a strange land is successful. The pioneer can do 

 little more than discover the localities where future researches 

 may be successfully made. My great mistake was that I 

 wintered too far north. Had I waited the arrival of migra- 

 tory birds at Yen-e-saisk', instead of on the Arctic circle, my 

 ornithological bag would have been increased fourfold in 

 value. My list is almost as remarkable for what it omits as for 

 what it includes. There is no doubt that the Merlin is common 

 in the valley of the Yen-e-say'; and a little further south, most 

 likely they would have been found chasing the Snow-Buntings. 

 I was probably only just beyond the northern range of the 

 Siberian Jay. On my return journey my time was neces- 

 sarily very limited, and I was obliged to husband my ammu- 

 nition. It was also the most unfavourable time of the whole 

 year for making ornithological observations. During the 

 breeding-season many birds forsake the neighbourhood of 

 the villages and the cultivated land, and scatter themselves 

 through the forests ; and whilst they are moulting in the 

 autumn, they seem to be fully aware that their powers of flight 

 are limited, and that consequently they are an easy prey to 

 their Raptorial enemies, and therefore they seem afraid to 

 trust themselves on the wing. For the most part they are 

 silent at this season, and skulk amongst the underwood, and 

 it is only by chance that one can obtain a shot at them. 



My plans were also considerably disarranged by the two 

 shipwrecks, which did not form a part of my original pro- 

 gramme ; nevertheless I trust that the observations I was able 

 to make may prove interesting to the student of ornithology. 



HALIAETUS ALBICILLA (Linn.). 



The Sea-Eagle was common on the banks of the Yen-e-say', 



