EXCURSIONS IN THE FOREST 297 



was by no means the silent bird he appeared to be when 

 close to the houses. I got amongst quite a colony of 

 them in the forest. At one time there were eight in 

 one tree ; at another time they flew from tree to tree, 

 screaming at each other. They have two distinct notes, 

 both harsh enough. One, probably the call- note, is a 

 little prolonged and slightly plaintive ; the other is 

 louder and more energetic — an alarmed or angry tone. 

 This is probably the alarm-note, and is the one which on 

 the previous day I mistook for the scream of a jay. It is 

 almost as grating to the ear as the note of a corncrake. I 

 found the pine grosbeak as common as they had been the 

 day before, and shot males both in the red and yellow 

 plumage. I was also fortunate enough to get a shot at 

 one of the pair of birds which the sailors called ravens, 

 and which they assured me had wintered at the Kureika. 

 I was surprised to find him so small a bird, and I am now 

 convinced that he was only a large carrion-crow. His 

 croak was certainly that of a crow, and not that of a 

 raven. 



I continued to make excursions in the forest every 

 day with greater or less success. After all, the forest 

 was nearly denuded of birds. I sometimes trudged along 

 on my snowshoes for an hour or more without seeing 

 one. Then all at once I would come upon quite a small 

 family of them. The few birds there were seemed to be 

 gregarious. Pine grosbeaks and Lapp-tits were generally 

 together, perhaps three or four of each. On the 27th I 

 succeeded in securing the woodpecker, and found him to 

 be, as I expected, the three-toed woodpecker. On the 

 banks of the river small flocks of snow-buntings occasion- 

 ally passed, and the nutcrackers continued as common as 

 ever. The latter birds were remarkably sociable, three 

 or four usually congregating together about different 



