BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 143 



a Fieldfare's in a young spruce, with five fresh eggs. Two Arctic 

 Terns sat on a hillock in a pool, looking as if the north wind was too 

 much for them. A small flock of these birds came to fish two or 

 three times every day over the lake opposite our house. We saw an 

 old nest of some bird of prey — probably a Buzzard — in a pine-tree, 

 the first sign of this class of birds breeding here. 



June jth. — One of the men at the station said he knew of a small 

 Hawk's nest a verst from the house, so I went after breakfast with 

 him to see it, expecting to find a Merlin's. We did not want Merlins' 

 eggs, for we had already taken them in the district ; still it is a great 

 mistake to damp the enthusiasm of the native, and the nest was only 

 a verst off ! On our arrival there I found the nest was in a hole in a 

 large dead pine, and the bird a Hawk Owl ! This is a good instance 

 of the reliability to be placed on nine-tenths of the ornithological 

 information received in these countries. I am often amazed at the 

 prices paid at auction, or to dealers for eggs received in the first 

 instance from natives whose knowledge may be illustrated by this 

 incident. Dead pines retain their bark for some time and then 

 appear to shed the whole of it during one season ; after which they 

 are as smooth as a flagstaff ; and as this tree was almost too large to 

 grasp, the Russian had difficulty in getting up even with my climb- 

 ing irons. There were two holes, one eighteen feet from the ground 

 and the other six feet above that. The tree slanted considerably, and 

 both holes were, as usual, on the lower side, so that he found it im- 

 possible to reach round far enough to insert his arm to the bottom of 

 them. To add to the man's troubles one of the old birds flew at him 

 repeatedly and hit his head smartly three times with its wings- 

 Climbing irons being useless a ladder seemed the only hope ; so we 

 cut down two young firs and fixed five staves — rather far apart ! — with 

 the ten nails his fishing station on the lake below afforded. The man 

 mounted the crazy ladder to the lower hole and reported five eggs, so 

 up I went to " lift " my first clutch of Hawk Owl's, but the first ^'gg 

 I brought out was a blue one ! — a Goldeneye's. I left the man to 



