CHAP. IX. COCKSURE. 97 



Oa my way to my cachet, I met another party of reed- 

 buntings, one of which I bagged ; then I sat in my hiding- 

 place for an hour, waiting for geese that neyer came within 

 range. 



At eight I found I had taken a wink of sleep, I could 

 stand it no longer, so set off in search of my companions, and 

 bagging another reed-bunting and wagtail on my way, we 

 returned together to our encampment, where we soou had 

 the kettle boiling with " tchai." 



The postmaster and " Cocksure " turned up as we were 

 breakfasting, and reported a blank night. The Preestaff, we 

 found afterwards, had fared no better. Deciding that we had 

 had enough of this wild goose chase, we harnessed our sledges 

 and returned home in a steady rain. Our horse was done 

 up, and we were six hours on the road, through four of 

 which we slept soundly, waking up just in time to bag a 

 score of shore-larks. 



Notwithstanding its inglorious results, we enjoyed our trip 

 as a novelty, and had many hearty laughs, over divers " spills " 

 out of and over the sledge. As ours was the only one that 

 brought home a dead goose, the best of the laugh was on 

 our side. We had, moreover, bagged a new migrant, and 

 Cocksure had seen a black woodpecker * and a common snipe. 



Minor, China, and Japan. In the valley 

 of the Petchora we found it as far north 

 as we went. 



" The black woodpecker {Dryocopus 

 martius, Linn.) is of extremely doubtful 

 occurrence in the British Islands, but 

 is a resident throughout Northern and 

 Central Europe and Asia. In Eastern 



Europe its range is somewhat more 

 southerly, extending to Turkey, the 

 Ionian Islands, and Asia Minor. In 

 Asia it does not occur south of Siberia. 

 We did not succeed in obtaining a 

 specimen in the valley of the Petchora, 

 nor did we see it farther north than 

 Ust-Zylma. 



H 



