AN ORNITHOLOGICAL TOUR IN NORWAY. 417 



sweet, and were the chief food of the numerous bumble-bees. 

 There was much growth of arctic creeping birch, and stretches of 

 moss, crowberry, cloudberry, &c. Here and there on higher 

 banks a few birches reared their heads above the willows. The 

 top of one of these birches is a favourite perch for a Bluethroat to 

 sing from. But it does not court observation, is easily alarmed, and 

 it is seldom long before it drops down into the concealment of the 

 willows. Of the wonderful variety of the song I had further proof, 

 and though the song once heard is easily recognized again, the 

 variation in the notes of different individuals is remarkable. The 

 following description of the song of a good singer which I took 

 down, while agreeing with it in the main points, shows a con- 

 siderable variation from that given of the song of a bird at Tonset 

 (vide supra, p. 427). The Tromso bird sang "chow chow chow 

 chow," like a Thrush, then produced castanet sounds, then sounds 

 of two castanets at once, then " chee chee chee chee chee" (a high 

 pipe), " do-it do-it do-it do-it" (soft and mellow), "tip tip tip 

 tip tip," "clit-ee clit-ee clit-ee clit-ee," rising all along; every 

 now and then came the metallic " ting ting ting." This bird 

 sang, in fact, a rather sharper song; "weee" was changed into 

 "chee" and "wirreee" into "clit-ee." 



Phylloscopus trochilus. — Very abundant, and in full rich song. 

 It was the most numerous bird in Tromso, and was found eveiy- 

 where on the island, except on a small piece of bare hill-top at 

 the north end ; even in the interior of the birch woods, where the 

 paucity of bird-life was remarkable, a few Willow Wrens were 

 generally to be seen about any little open space. We noticed 

 many on Grindo, and in the wooded parts of the Tromsdal. From 

 the much greater abundance of the Willow Wren in Tromso than 

 in those localities in southern and middle Norway which we 

 visited, it seems possible that most of the Tromso Willow Wrens, 

 like some other migratory Passeres, arrive there by the eastern 

 route (cf. Prof. Collett's ' Bird Life in Arctic Norway,' p. 13). 

 On the 18th I found an unfinished nest by the lake side; the 

 same day a bird in the willow swamps was building and wrestling 

 with a big white feather, which proved too much for it; and 

 another nest also, quite exposed in the side of a ditch by a road 

 track, was unfinished, and lined partly with white grouse- 

 feathers. 



Acrocephalus phragmitis.— Abundant, and singing with great 



