CHAP. XV. BIRDS' EGGS. 183 



eggs belonging to the third nest, but reached Alexievka at 

 midnight with fourteen identified grey plover eggs. Two 

 sittings were quite fresh, and made us an excellent omelette 

 for breakfast the next morning. The other two were very 

 slightly incubated. 



On the tundra we saw several Buffon's skuas, and shot 

 two. I also shot a willow grouse on a piece of swampy 

 ground near a lake, where a few dwarf willows were growing. 

 On the lakes we saw many pairs of long-tailed ducks. A 

 few pairs of yellow-headed wagtails, which evidently had 

 nests, a redwing, a Temminck's stint, a few pairs of bean- 

 geese, a redpole, and a hawk, which, as far as I could make 

 out with my glass, was a male peregrine — this completed 

 the list of birds we saw on the tundra. 



On our return to head-quarters we found that the price we 



had paid for the eggs to the workmen had induced many of 



them to go out bird-nesting, and at night our bag for the 



day stood as under, as far as eggs were concerned : 



Gieyplover 14 



Dunlin 7 



Great enipe 4 



Lapland bunting 25 



Eed-throated pi|.iit 39 



Yellow-headed wagtiiil lU 



Mealy redpole 16 



Eeed bunting 12 



Kedwing 3 



Bean goose ' 11 



Widgeon (with down) 17 



Temminck's stint 4 



162 

 This was a grand haul. Any little lingering feeling of 



