BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 165 



of Temminck's Stints ; also nests with eggs of Redwings and Bramb- 

 lings. One of the latter was a very peculiar nest ; something seemed 

 to have proved unsatisfactory about the foundation, and the bird had 

 gone on adding to the nest until it was nearly a foot high ; but all her 

 labour had been in vain for some wretched crow had sucked the eggs. 

 We saw several Wood- Sandpipers and Redshanks, and spent much 

 time over the former without result. Another male Eversmann's 

 Warbler was shot in the scrub as we went up to the lakes. 



July 3rd — A few Temminck's Stints had eggs in the old church- 

 yard on the island in front of Kola ; and a large shingle bar near held 

 a pair of Oyster-catchers with young, and several pairs of Ringed 

 Plovers ; we caught young of both. The little Oyster-catcher har- 

 monised particularly well with its surroundings and must have remained 

 more than an hour without moving. 



After lunch we rowed up the Tuloma to an island about a mile 

 above the town. A few Terns had nested here, and like those yester- 

 day, had partly hatched out. We found four nests of Temminck's 

 Stints with eggs (4, 4, 4, 3). The eggs in another nest had been 

 recently sucked by some robber, and both the Stints were busy eating 

 the remains ! One bird carried a shell on to the beach and finished the 

 contents there. A Ringed Plover had four fresh eggs on the island ; 

 and a Red-breasted Merganser eleven, slightly incubated. 



Two Scotsmen arrived to-day who had been salmon-fishing higher 

 up the Tuloma ; but had had poor sport, as the river was too high. 

 They have leased the rod fishing in the river from the Lapps, and 

 erected huts at the best places. These rivers in Russian Lapland 

 have a short season, because there are no mountains behind them 

 with large accumulations of snow to maintain the water during the 

 summer as there are in Norway. Still, 617 fish had been caught with 

 the rod in one season some years before. 



July 4th. — We crossed the Kola river again to-day specially to 

 search for Pine-Grosbeaks, but never saw a bird. A Redwing's nest 

 contained two eggs nearly hatched and three addled. These birds 



