BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 49 



walk as we care to undertake. During part of the winter he drives 

 the Post over the Kola district in sledges drawn by reindeer, and 

 accompanied by four other men. After our return he went to the 

 cluster of huts we had passed on our way here from the monastery, to 

 see his man with the fingerless hands, and only returned at 5.30 a.m. 

 bringing another Red-breasted Merganser's nest with fifteen eggs which 

 he had found in one of the houses. 



July yth. — Charles found a Merganser to-day on six eggs, and she 

 sat for some time while he stood a few feet off; but declined to stop 

 and have her photograph taken. The nest was under a little juniper 

 on a small island at the head of our lake. Then Ivan took us some 

 miles up the valley to see a lake where he was sure we should find 

 Swans ; but the lake was only a wide part of the river Pechenga with 

 two or three islets, and held no Swans. On the way up we met a 

 family party of Hawk- Owls Surnia idula, one of which I shot, a fact 

 that caused very little concern to his relatives, who remained near us 

 for some time. Owls' claws are sharp, and it is well to bear that in 

 mind when dealing with wounded ones ! All the Fieldfares seen 

 to-day had young, while most of the eggs of the smaller birds, such 

 as Redpoll, Wheatear, Willow- Wren, and Brambling, were much 

 incubated. We put up two hen Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus near 

 the path when returning, the first and last seen here. 



July Sth. — As some kinds of food were running low, I sent the 

 men to the monastery for a further supply. They were three hours 

 going there ; and returned in the evening with four pints of milk, one 

 pound of butter, seven small loaves of bread, some tea and sugar, and 

 a small salmon; total cost, 4 roubles 15 copecks. An English- 

 man had been to the monastery yesterday who had walked across 

 from the Voriema (Jacob) river. He could speak no language they 

 understood ; so took some photos and returned to Norway. We were 

 sorry not to have seen him. I had told Ivan to bring some beer or 

 spirits, but the monks would let him have neither ; and so we were 

 reduced to tea before the end of our stay. 



D 



