236 RESULTS OF THE JOURNEY 



by Captain Fielden, in lat. 82, during the Nares Arctic 

 expedition, but the breeding-grounds of the curlew sand- 

 piper still remain a mystery.^ We added several birds to 

 the European list, which had either never been found 

 in Europe before, or only doubtfully so ; such as the 

 Siberian chiffchaff, the Petchora pipit, the Siberian 

 herring-gull, the Arctic forms of the marsh-tit and the 

 lesser spotted woodpecker, the yellow-headed wagtail, 

 and the Asiatic stonechat. We brought home careful 



o 



records of the dates of arrival of the migratory birds 

 which breed in these northern latitudes, besides numerous 

 observations on the habits of little-known birds. Our 

 list of skins brought home exceeded a thousand, and of 



o 



eggs rather more than six hundred. 



The number of species which we obtained was compara- 

 tively small, the whole of our collecting having been done 

 north of latitude 65. The Arctic regions are frost-bound 

 for eight months out of the twelve, and buried under a 

 mantle of snow varying in depth from three to six feet. 

 During this time they are practically barren of ornitho- 

 logical life ; the small number of birds which remain within 

 the Arctic circle forsake the tundras where they breed, to 

 find feed in the pine-forests at or near the limit of forest 

 growth, a few only remaining where the shelter of a deep 

 valley or watercourse permits the growth of a few stunted 

 willows, birches, and hazel bushes. Practically it may 

 be said that there is no spring or autumn in the Arctic 

 regions. Summer follows suddenly upon winter, and the 

 forests and the tundra as suddenly swarm with bird- 

 life. Although the number of species breeding within 

 the Arctic circle is comparatively small, the number of 

 individuals is vast beyond conception. Birds go to the 



* Mr. H. Leybourne Popham afterwards obtained the eggs of the curlew sand- 

 piper on the Yenesei, vide " Proc. Zoolog. Soc." 1897, p. 891, pi. li. ED. 



