102 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 



heap of moss at my feet ; the nest was beautifully made and lined 

 with such a mass of white feathers that one wondered how the birds 

 had managed to collect so many. No eggs had yet been laid. Walk- 

 ing up to the end of this large peninsula I flushed a Pintail Duck 

 from her nest and shot her, when she fell into the river and was 

 washed ashore 150 yards down on the opposite side, where Kjeldsen 

 picked her up. The nest, which was fifteen yards from the river, on 

 an open piece of level ground covered with herbage some six inches 

 high, was well lined with down, and contained nine eggs partly incu- 

 bated. I have usually found this species nesting under the shelter of 

 a bush, and there were scores of acres of dry scrub close to. As I 

 was going back to camp with these and other eggs, I saw an amusing 

 chase of a Raven by two Geese ; the former was flying at a speed I 

 never saw a Raven make before, and giving quick short croaks, evi- 

 dently very sorry for himself ! Unfortunately the Geese caught sight 

 of me just as they were nearly up to him, and turned off; I ex- 

 pect he had been more successful in finding a goose's nest than 

 we had. 



In the next large bend of the river a pair of Wild Ducks Anas 

 hoscas rose from a pool. And then the treat of the night occurred. A 

 Red-throated Diver came sweeping past forty yards off, exchanging 

 loud notes of greeting with another bird, and disappeared over the 

 edge of a bank without having appeared to notice my presence. So I 

 followed it to see the cause of its pre-occupation. Just under the 

 bank was a long narrow pool some forty yards long by thirty feet at the 

 wider end where I stood, and close to me was the Diver. The change 

 in its note when it caught sight of me was amusing, and the angry 

 alarmed look in the eyes was as plain as possible. It made an effort 

 to rise but there was not a sufficient stretch of water beyond it. 

 After watching it some time I moved a little nearer, and there was the 

 other bird crouching on the nest, its head laid down the centre of its 

 back so as to be as little conspicuous as possible. Tableau! One Diver 

 thirty feet off, and one forty feet, while a little Phalarope swam about 



