A SUMMER ON THE YENESEI 133 



desired effect, but as he strolled doubtfully away, a 

 second piece fell into the nest. Without hesitation 

 the plucky little bird, disregarding the strange up- 

 heavals of the tent, ran back and tried to clear the 

 precious eggs. I photographed him for the last time 

 as he stood over them, piping his solicitude lest they 

 should take hurt. I have seldom seen a bird that I 

 liked so well — so beautiful, so innocent, and so occupied. 

 There is something very touching in a cock bird's care 

 for his eggs. The hen is proverbially attached to the 

 nest, and it seems only natural that she should be so, 

 but her mate's pride and devotion is pretty to see. 



I obtained another male phalarope and a newly 

 hatched chick on 16th July, but the young ones fledge 

 incredibly quickly, and by the beginning of August 

 there was not a bird to be seen in the marshes. The 

 grey phalaropes are the first migrants to leave Golchika 

 in the summer. 



The red-necked phalaropes were much more common 

 than the last-named species, and they were also more 

 sociable. They began to nest about the same time 

 as the grey phalaropes, but they lingered much later 

 in the summer, and I obtained young birds in the 

 plumage of the year until the end of August. Our 

 British phalaropes are so tame in the breeding season 

 that they may almost be caught in a butterfly-net, but 

 the Siberian birds were rather wild, especially when 

 they had young ones in the neighbourhood. When a 

 red-necked phalarope was feeding in shallow water 

 she would begin to pirouette round quickly on her own 

 axis, and at the same time snatch up small particles 



