134 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 



We caught some good trout during our stay, and they formed a 

 pleasant change from tinned food. All were taken on a small salmon 

 fly ; they would not look at ordinary trout flies. Mr. Witherby 

 caught a salmon of 1 5 lbs. here in 1899, but the Kola cannot be 

 called a salmon river ; the bulk of the fish go up the Tuloma. 



May ^ist. — We shot the first Three-toed Woodpecker to-day, a 

 female containing an egg nearly ready to lay. This was the only 

 Woodpecker we saw, although we heard the birds several times. 

 Witherby reports them as very common from Kandalax to Kola, 

 which shows they vary considerably in numbers in different seasons. 

 Pleske says that Ficus minor has been shot at Kitsa, and Dryoco^pus 

 martins at Kandalax, but Witherby did not see either species. Musters 

 had been out alone in the morning, and found a Lapp Tit's nest 

 he could not reach, so we sallied forth after dinner, armed with the 

 necessary tools. We rapped on the tree sharply, but the bird sat 

 close for some time, and only left when we had nearly reached up 

 to the hole. Heavy blows on a tree are useless, they only frighten 

 the bird ; but if you scratch with your nails on the bark, like a cat 

 climbing a tree, the bird will generally come out. The nest was in an 

 old hole of a Woodpecker (as were all we subsequently found), and 

 quite eight feet from the ground ; so that our first proceeding was to 

 cut down some birch and build a platform to stand on. Then the hole 

 had to be cut out with gouges, a work of some time. It was won- 

 derful that any bird could have bored through that hard firm wood 

 with its beak. When taking Tits' or other small eggs the cavity 

 should be first filled with cotton wool, as chips are liable to fall in and 

 crack the eggs. At last the hole was sufficiently enlarged to allow 

 a salt-spoon, tied to a stick, to be worked inside ; and seven eggs were 

 safely extracted, the first we had taken of this species. The bottom 

 of the nest was of moss, and over this was a thick felted mass of 

 lemming-hair, making a beautifully warm bed. Musters had seen the 

 male carry in some of this hair in the morning ; and was therefore 

 afraid the eggs were not yet laid. The female kept close to us all the 



