124 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. IO--N0. 8 



A Birds'-Nesting Ramble in Lapland. 



BY ALFRED CRAWIIALL CHAPMAN. {'Ihe Illis.) 



Continued from page 110. 

 June 16th. Coming down the Puhiiakelf hi.st 

 night, I observed a thieli-bodied Duck flying, its 

 wings rustling in the air. I inquired of tlie Laps 

 if any Ducks bred in trees about here, and a boy 

 assured me they did, and that lie knew of holes 

 where he had seen their nests in previous years. 

 I told him where I had seen this Duck, and this 

 morning he returned, having found the nest 

 and six eggs of the Goldeneye {Clan/jula glau. 

 cion). When we arrived at the place, I wondered 

 where the nest could possibly be, so thin and 

 small were all the trees; however, in an old 

 stump about three feet high, with a hole in the 

 side of it large enough for a Duck's body to enter, 

 and about eighteen inches down, was a mass of 

 dusky white down, with the six blui.sh-grcen 

 eggs. No bird was about, and the eggs were 

 cold, but quite fresh. The stump was at the top 

 of a very steep bank, perhaps 150 feet from the 

 river, but certainly not more than 40 feet per- 

 licudicularly above the water. When wandering 

 in the Birch forests, we observed a Great Spotted 

 Woodpecker (Pkus major), and shortly after 

 Triuus saw a Pine Grosbeak. I secured both, 

 and then we commenced to look for the nests, 

 which we were lucky in finding close together. 

 It was merely a question of looking for a thick 

 enough tree to find the Woodpecker's nest. The 

 first thick-stemmed tree contained the nest, and I 

 caught the hen bird on it; she had just hatched 

 her four eggs, so I released her. The Grosbeak's 

 nest, similar to the one already described, con- 

 tained four eggs. Presently the male Grosbeak 

 came up, a handsome scarlet-plumaged bird. I 

 never heard these birds utter the slightest note; 

 they, seemed to seek safety by sitting perfectly 

 motionless on an open branch, and allowed easy 

 approach. The hen was a greyish-green bird. 



A very pretty Willow Grouse, in adult Summer 

 Itlumage, which I shot to-day in Russian Finland, 

 had an egg ready for laying in her oviduct. A 

 Siberian Titmouse (Panis ductus), flying out of 

 an old Woodpecker's hole, made me sure of a 

 nest and eggs, and I secured her instantly, but 

 was disappointed to find nothing but dry chips 

 and no eggs at the bottom. The bird was a round 

 fluffy ball of hairy feathers, with a rather long 

 blue tail, and was the only example I saw of this 

 species. Titlarks were very abundant, and the 

 nests were everywhere to be found now. A large 

 flock of Common Scoters rose as we came down 

 the Pulmakelf to-night. To-day was dull, but 



not cold, and in the evening we had sunshine, 

 which afterwards proved to be the beginning of 

 that continual radiance which characterizes the 

 three months' Summer season in these latitudes. 

 June 17th. A Qvane girl brought in the dark- 

 colored down and eight eggs of what she termed 

 "Kriksa," i. e. Teal {Querquedula crecca), which 

 she had taken that morning at the edge of a large 

 lake a little way from Pulmak. She also brought 

 me a peculiar open-topped nest, made of thin, 

 stiff, black roots, lined with dead leaves, and con- 

 taining six eggs of the Water Ouzel: doubtless 

 Cinclus vielanogaster. The nest was different 

 from any of those of 0. aquaticus I have found 

 in England. 



Later in the day, after a long and fruitless 

 search, as Trinus and I were resting on the edge 

 of a half-frozen lough far out on the fell, a pair 

 of Wood Sandpipers came from somewhere and 

 began to feed along the edge of the lough; and 

 whilst watching them a Long-tailed Skua came 

 past us with very rapid flight. I must have been 

 indulging in a quiet "siesta," when Trinus 

 touched my coat and pointed to the lough, on 

 which, almost within gunshot, two large heavy- 

 looking Ducks were swimming, their necks 

 craned up, suspiciously watching us. They had 

 just alighted, and although we were fully ex- 

 posed to view, they did not seem to understand 

 what we were, so motionless did we lie. Pres- 

 ently the lighter colored of the two began diving, 

 the other swimming restlessly backwards and for- 

 wards along the edge of the ice. Immediately I 

 moved, the cat-ice cracked under my feet, and 

 the drake took a long flight; but coming high 

 over my head, I killed him, and the duck, rising 

 at the shot, shared a similar fate. They proved 

 to be an adult pair of Velvet Scoters {Oickmia 

 fu-icii). These birds were evidently seeking a 

 nesting place when I found them: but so arctic 

 was the state of the fells and their lakes at this 

 date, that I do not think either the Velvet Scoter 

 or the Long-tailed Skua had eggs when I left the 

 country in the beginning of July. 



A pair of Whimbrels (Numcnius jj/iwopug) 

 showed great anxiety long before we reached their 

 real breeding place; and although they used every 

 endeavor to allure us away, I was most fortunate 

 in walking right upon the nest and four eggs, 

 slightly incubated, in a hole scratched in the 

 reindeer moss. Many pike were disporting them- 

 selves in .some shallow lakes far out on the fells 

 to-day, often jumping right out of the water. I 

 shot one to see what it was, and it proved to be 

 about two pounds weight. We wondered greatly 

 how these fish had ever got there, and what they 

 did in the long Winter I Coming home that night 



