ON THE ORNITHOLOGY OF LAPLAND. 347 



apricarius 9 Cnv.; "bitschus,"Lap.), wliicli swarmed 

 on all these fells, I think was one of the commonest 

 birds on our fells, and it is found as well on the 

 snow- covered tops as on the lower fells, but 

 always among the stones, never on the fell 

 meadows. They were by no means shy, especi- 

 ally in the breeding season, and their soft 

 whistling call-note, " kirley-kirlz," often betrayed 

 the locality of the nest, which is generally nothing 

 more than a little dry grass in a hole scraped on 

 the bare fell ; but once, and once only, I took a 

 nest made of fine dry grass and a few ptarmigan 

 feathers. I never found more than three eggs in 

 a nest, and, as I have taken these hard sat on, I 

 fancy three is the full number. We took our first 

 nest on June 7, and our last on June 28 ; but by 

 the middle of July many young were strong 

 flyers. I know no egg which is likely to be mis- 

 taken for that of the dotterel ground colour 

 dark stone, thickly blotched all over with black 

 patches. 



I never could identify the grey plover (Ch. 

 Helveticus, Bon.) in this neighbourhood, although 

 I have good reason to believe that it breeds here. 

 I offered a great price to the Laps if they could 

 bring me the nest and bird of a plover with a 

 back toe, but I never had the luck to obtain it. 

 As a guide to the young naturalist, I may here 



