A SUMMER ON THE YENESEl 147 



grown the need of her protection) held her ground, and 

 began to curtsey sideways, and cry softly, shamming 

 a broken wing with pretty art. At first she and the 

 buzzard were at cross-purposes. He had not even seen 

 her brood, and if he had, he knew that it was waste of 

 time to chivy birds so strong upon the wing. If she 

 had known enough to lie still while his sinister shadow 

 wheeled around her, all would have been well. As it 

 was, her flutterings tempted him, and he stooped at her 

 viciously. I could not see such an ending to her show 

 of maternal devotion, and so, exchanging my field- 

 glasses for the gun, I pumped 2 oz. of dust-shot into the 

 hawk. Of course, at that range, it scarcely ruffled his 

 stout breastplate of feathers, but the report made him 

 sheer off, and gave the gallant little plover time to escape. 



Another bold parent was the willow-grouse. At the 

 end of July I found a brood in a little valley much 

 beloved by red-throated pipits and mosquitoes. After 

 a hot chase I captured three of the youngsters, and 

 imprisoned them in the camera case. As soon as the 

 mother heard them cheeping, she ran up with the greatest 

 solicitude, and I was able to photograph her over and 

 over again as she stood within ten feet of me. The cock 

 bird also showed much concern, but dared not venture 

 so close as his mate. From the photograph it will be 

 seen, in these high latitudes, the willow-grouse never 

 lose the white winter plumage entirely. 



It is interesting to find that even the British Islands 

 are not so far south of the arctic avifauna but that five- 

 sixths of all the species I observed north of latitude 70° 

 are on the British lists. Of these, twelve species breed 



