132 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 



fixed in a few minutes to hooks screwed into the wooden walls of the 

 hut ; but the sleeper must not^ forget to put a double thickness of 

 blanket under him, as the cold strikes disagreeably through the tightly 

 stretched canvas. We were in bed by 8 p.m. and just going off to 

 sleep, when the five men from Kola came in to say good-bye. They 

 were returning home at once, after a meal of bread and dried fish and 

 an hour's sleep ! 



May 2gth. — After yesterday's exertions, short walks easily satisfied 

 our desire to explore the new country. We were in a similar position 

 to that at Kola, as the Kitsa river came in from the east, and the 

 Kola flowed away to the n.n.e., leaving us only three points of the 

 compass open to walk over. Both rivers were still in heavy flood, and 

 there appeared to be little prospect of our continuing the journey for 

 some days. This did not affect us much, as we were obliged to wait 

 while the remainder of the luggage was brought on from Tschongai 

 by the two men remaining with us, who belonged to Kitsa station. 

 Birds were not numerous here, still we noted during the day Red- 

 wing, Fieldfare (nest with one Q^g), Wheatear, White Wagtail, Grey- 

 headed Wagtail, Meadow-Pipit, Lapp Tit, Reed-Bunting, Redstart, Bramb- 

 ling, Mealy Redpoll, Rough-legged Buzzard, Teal, Goldeneye, Capercaillie, 

 Wood-Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, and Greenshank. But the most 

 interesting birds seen were a pair of Waxwings, which flew past the 

 hut and disappeared in the birch on the other side of the river. 

 Unfortunately, this was the only time we met with the species. 

 Pleske records this bird from the Imandra and from Kandalax. In 

 the evening the men told us they had found a duck's nest in a hollow 

 tree, and as it was but a verst off we went with them to see it. The 

 duck had been put off' the nest by the men and had not yet returned. 

 We had been hunting for hollow trees some hours that day, and it 

 was rather provoking to find we had been within a few hundred yards 

 of this one during our wanderings. The stump stood on the edge 

 of a steep bank overlooking the Kitsa, and had evidently been in- 

 habited by the birds for many years, as two triangular holes had been 



