272 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Shrikes, which evidently had young. A short search revealed the 

 nest, situated at the top of a birch tree about twenty feet high ; it was 

 a large nest, composed of small twigs and fine rootlets, lined with 

 Willow-Grouse feathers. It was much flattened out by the young, of 

 which one that could just fly was still in the nest ; while scattered in 

 the trees close by were the other three rather stronger young birds. 

 Under the tree in which the nest was situated we picked up several 

 pellets, which chiefly consisted of the remains of beetles and moths. 

 Both parents continually fed the young, bringing food from across the 

 river about forty yards away. They were very wary, flying straight up 

 to the young one whose turn it was with loud cries, to which the 

 young responded, feeding him, and at once departing across the river 

 for a further supply, the whole operation only taking a few seconds. 



Magpie (Pica rustica). — Only seen at the mouth of the valley near 

 the farms. 



Siberian Jay (Perisoreus infaustus). — A family party were seen work- 

 ing their way up stream in the birch trees, close to the river-bank, on 

 June 28th ; not seen again. 



Hooded Crow (Corvus comix). — Up the valley we only saw about 

 two pairs, though there were several down at the mouth. A pair 

 visited our camp nearly every night, scavenging for scraps. They 

 seemed to come up the river from some distance, and used to arrive 

 regularly from 3 to 5 a.m. We were several times awakened by their 

 raucous voices, and, on lifting up the lower edge of the tent, could see 

 them within a few yards, picking about amongst the pots and pans. 



Osprey (Pandion halia'etus). — On June 26th an Osprey was seen 

 circling over the river, and through the glasses the light-coloured 

 " hackles " at the back of his head were visible, so that he was probably 

 an old bird. A short distance further up we came across a nest in a 

 commanding situation at the top of a dead birch, on a point at the 

 bend of the river. It was a large nest made of sticks, with a few 

 pieces of earth inside it ; there were no indications of its having been 

 used that year, and it was in bad repair. This nest was well known 

 to the Finns as that of an Osprey, and they said it had been in use for 

 many years. A second bird was seen later flying over the lake, mobbed 

 by about a dozen Arctic Terns. 



Merlin (Falco asalon). — A small Hawk seen near the lakes on 

 July 3rd was probably of this species, though it was too far off for 

 certain determination. 



Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca). — The remains of a beautiful old 

 bird were picked up on the fjeld on June 29th ; the feathers were 

 scattered over a wide area, and the bones had been gnawed by Foxes, 



