Sept. 1885.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



139 



that we enjoy but are obtained only by more or 

 less suffering. I make no excuse, but simply do 

 it. I feel for each bird that suffers by not being 

 killed outright. You who sit in judgment and 

 would dictate, weigh the matter carefully before 

 you condemn. Now open the bill and with fine 

 forceps or a probe gently force cotton into the 

 throat and a little into the nostrils — which will 

 be found just at the upper base of the bill. This 

 is to prevent bleeding and the stomach juice from 

 running out, the latter being very bard to clean, 

 lu large birds fill the vent in the same manner. 

 I seldom try to stop bleeding — occasionally where 

 there is a large clot I wipe it off carefully with 

 my knife, or cotton. If I am not moving about 

 much, a bird that bleeds freely I lay down in a 

 secure place. In a few minutes the blood will 

 stop flowing. Take from your pocket a piece of 

 the newspaper and make a tunnel or cornucopia, 

 drop your bird in it head first, and close it by 

 folding the open end, being careful not to bend 

 the tail. This is done by two folds, one to the right 

 and the other to the left. I sometimes pin the 

 tunnel half way between the two ends, which 

 will prevent its opening, but only for the larger 

 birds. You can now place the tunnel with bird 

 in your basket or pocket. If in the latter look 

 out and not use a pocket that you are liable to 

 sit on — not on account of the pin, but the bird. 



You can easily carry two dozen birds. I say 

 two dozen, but that is a good many. I woukl 

 advise that a beginner should not shoot too many 

 at one time. An attempt to go too fast will in- 

 vite a poor result. "Well, do as you like, only 

 stop sometime. About eight o'clock birds do 

 • not sing as loudly as at sunrise, and it becomes 

 more quiet. A few birds continue their song, 

 the Red-eyed Vireo being conspicuous. What be- 

 comes of the others ? I confess I could never 

 quite satisfy m3'self. In the woods and swamps 

 that an hour or two since fairly rang with their 

 notes, all is quiet. You cannot even see the 

 birds. They evidently retire and you might as 

 well do the same, the collecting hour has passed. 

 Ilainy weather is a poor time to collect, avoid it 

 if possible. You now start for home ; when you 

 arrive take out your papers, remove the birds 

 from each ; smooth them by gently passing 

 through your hands, place them on a plate or 

 board, in a cool place. The cellar bottom (if 

 there are no cats or rats), is the best. I do not 

 like to use an ice chest as it is apt to sweat them. 

 Drop all thoughts of them, clean up, sit down to 

 a good square meal — one worthy of the appetite 

 that you have gained. " Take it easy " for a 

 while. After you are rested I will introduce 

 you to the work room. 



A Birds'-Nesting Ramble in Lapland. 



BY AI.FIIED CIt.VWUALL CIIAPMAK. {TIw Ibis.) 



(Concluded from page 127.) 

 .lune 3()lh. We made an early start this morn- 

 ing and reached some high fells, some ten miles 

 from Pulmak, before the sun's heat had time to 

 strike us. Another thunderstorm greeted us here, 

 and when sheltering under a boulder a male Ring 

 Ouzel appeared before us, the only one we saw in 

 Finmark. I secured a pair of Dotterel here, and 

 then we descended into a vmsi expanse of bog and 

 morass. It appeared a charming place for birds; 

 but although we tram|)ed about for many hours 

 in the most likely-looking spots, we never even 

 saw or heard any thing save an occasional Golden 

 Plover. Coming home, I secured a pair of Lap- 

 land Buntings and found several nests of Field- 

 fares and Mealy Redpoles with young. From a 

 small lake in the midst of a thick forest, six 

 Wood Sandpipers together dashed off with the 

 wildest screams. I had been attracted thither by 

 cries which proved to arise from a family of 

 young Siberian Jays (Perisoreus infdustun). They 

 were hopping about from branch to branch in a 

 sprightly manner, reminding me of tlie habits of 

 a Jackdaw or Magpie. Two which I secured 

 were fledglings, not a week out of the nest, and 

 were clothed in a soft hairy dress, the rusty-red 

 color on the bastard wing and tail being conspicu- 

 ous in all their movements. I never found a nest 

 of this species, tliough it was evident these birds 

 had been hatched in the immediate neighbor- 

 hood. We observed Mealy Redpoles, generally 

 single birds, affecting the highest fell-tops to-day, 

 and busy feeding among the boulders and rein- 

 deer-moss. In rowing up the Pulmakelf on the 

 37th, we found several Temminck's Stints' nests 

 with broken eggs, caused by the rising of the 

 river, and we also got one with four fresh eggs. 

 A male Goosander (ilergus meryanser) slipping 

 slily away from an islet in a backwash of the 

 river, arrested our attention, as we had seen him 

 there several times before; and on landing on 

 this island, overgrown with Birch scrub, the 

 female Goosander slipped away from her nest, a 

 circular hole in the sandy ground, 10 inches in 

 diameter and 6 inches deep, thickly lined with 

 her dusky-colored down, containing ten cream- 

 colored eggs, quite fresh. The birds never came 

 near the nest while we were there. When look- 

 ing for the nest of a Greenshank which we had 

 disturbed, we found a Willow Warbler's nest, 

 lined with the fine grey-mottled feathers from the 

 back of a drake Wigeon, with seven fresh eggs. 

 June 28th. Many Wheatears have eggs now; 



