300 A SPRING AND SUMMER IN LAPLAND. 



redpole. The difference in the size of the beaks of 

 the two birds is very apparent, and I always 

 fancied the short-beaked bird was duller in plumage 

 than the other. Besides these, I shot two speci- 

 mens of a mealy redpole, nearly white. I would 

 suggest a comparison between this short-beaked 

 form and our lesser redpole, which at present has 

 not been identified in the north. I observed that 

 the red breast of the male birds became much 

 deeper and more vivid as the season advanced; 

 in fact, they did not appear to be in full summer 

 dress till many of the young were flyers. I think 

 the nest of the mealy redpole is one of the most 

 beautiful I ever saw ; perfectly cup- shaped ; built 

 of fine sticks, then a layer of fine grass, and lined 

 inwardly with the white down of the willow, and] 

 white feathers of the willow grouse, forming one 

 of the prettiest little mementos of the Lap forest 

 that I know ; the eggs often as many as six, some- 

 times pale light blue, unspotted, generally much 

 resembling those of the lesser redpole, and veryj 

 little larger. 



I saw the common linnet (F. cannabina, Lin.) 

 once or twice in the meadows, in the end of July, 

 but I never took the nest. 



The bullfinch ( Phyrrhula vulgaris, Tern. ; 

 "domherre," Sw.) was rather common just around 

 Quickiock. We, however, never saw them till 



