164 STANAVIALACHTA REVISITED 



had pretty good shooting for an hour or two ; but after 

 nine or ten o'clock we found nothing. There is very 

 little to be met on the tundra or anywhere else at mid- 

 night, for in spite of brilliant sunshine, the birds retire to 

 roost at the proper time and all is hushed. Our best find 

 was the nest of a velvet scoter. We shot the female as 

 she rose from it ; there were eight eggs in it and a good 

 supply of down. It was placed under a dwarf birch, far 

 from any lake or water. We shot three willow-grouse 



WATCHING GREY PLOVERS THROUGH A CLOUD OF MOSQUITOES 



and caught three young birds in down. While we were 

 seeking for them the male frequently flew past within 

 easy shot, and the female ran about with head depressed 

 and wings drooping, coming sometimes within two or 

 three yards of us. We saw two pairs of wood sandpipers 

 who had established themselves in a small space of 

 marshy ground. They evidently had young, for they 

 were continually flying round and alighting upon the 

 willows. To search for young in down, through long 

 grass, wearing mosquito-veils must prove a vain quest 

 and we did not long pursue it. We caught the young of 

 the Lapland bunting, and shot one of this year's shore- 



