I40 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 



built in the woodstack. Several pairs of Grey-headed Wagtails 

 frequented a small marsh near, and a pair of Skylarks singing every 

 day sounded very like home. Other birds noted here to-day were 

 Redwing, Wheatear, Redstart, Meadow-Pipit, Swallow, Mealy Redpoll, 

 Reed-Bunting, Brambling, Willow- Wren, Raven (one or two seen most 

 days), Golden Eagle (one immature bird passed near the house), 

 Cuckoo, Wigeon, Goldeneye,. Pintail, Common and Velvet Scoter, 

 Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Common Sandpiper, Common Snipe, 

 Arctic Tern, and Common Gull. 



The first birch leaves were out to-day, and a few days after the 

 hills were clothed in their beautiful light green. When once the 

 leaves begin to unfold, the progress is so rapid that one can almost 

 see it. In 1899 we first saw the leaves on June 29th near Pechenga 

 gulf, and in 1 90 1 the buds were only swelling when we left Lutni on 

 June 17th, but those were exceptionally late years. A sharp thunder- 

 storm with heavy rain passed over in the morning, some of the 

 flashes appearing to be quite close to the house. We congratulated 

 ourselves that the storm had not come the day before when we were 

 sleeping in the open. 



June 4th. — We spent seven hours looking after those Greenshanks 

 and Spotted Redshanks seen yesterday, with no result. A Teal's nest 

 with six eggs was on dry ground above the small marsh. Two Yellow 

 Buntings Emheriza citrinella were about the house to-day and remained 

 during the summer ; they were the only ones seen, whereas Mr. Witherby 

 found this species fairly common in 1899. 



JuTie $th. — As Maselsid was one of the places where the Bar- 

 tailed God wits bred in 1899, we were anxious to visit it and find 

 out whether they had come again this year. Our guide took us a 

 very good way over dry ground to the left of the lakes we went to 

 yesterday, and brought us back by a villainous route on the opposite 

 side. Maselsid is a very old settlement of the Lapps, as shown by 

 the herbage round the houses ; and occupies a knoll, with three lakes 

 in the immediate vicinity, two of which yield a good supply of fish. 



