438 Messrs. H. Seebohm and J. A. Harvie Brown on 
flesh and seal-oil, find their way, for the most part, to the 
markets of Pinega, and even as far as Nijni-Novgorod. 
Cygnus bewicki. 
To determine if possible the breeding-hannts of this species 
of Swan, and bring home authentic eggs to England, was one 
of the principal aims of onr expedition. From the time of 
our arrival at Ust Zylma in the middle of April, to that of onr 
departure for the delta in the beginning of June, we had ac¬ 
quired no satisfactory evidence of its presence. We were 
informed by the inhabitants at Ust Zylma, and by the best 
sportsmen of the town, that there were two species, but that 
the smaller w r ent to the east of the Ural Mountains to breed. 
But we had long since ceased to attach much importance to 
any information w r e received on such subjects. Information 
almost invariably proved conflicting and unsatisfactory. 
We had received a very small Swanks egg which had been 
brought the previous summer from Gorodok; but we could 
learn nothing further concerning it, except that it might have 
originally eome from Varandai, or might have been taken in 
the neighbourhood of Gorodok. We examined two speci¬ 
mens <of the Common Wild Swan, shot near Ust Zylma at 
the time of migration, and took drawings and measurements 
for future use. We had ourselves seen a good many Swans 
flying overhead or settling on the ice of the river; but in no 
case were we able to identify them, though we settled in our 
own minds that there were two of different sizes. 
With nothing therefore to guide us in our search, save the 
last-mentioned item, we started on our voyage down the 
river in the beginning of June. We saw Swans here and 
there, but without identifying them. On arriving at Kuya, 
and while shooting on a swampy willow-covered island close 
to that place, Seebohm and Simeon found a Swan's nest 
containing four eggs. We lay for a couple of hours after¬ 
wards near the nest in the hope of getting a shot. Simeon 
was heard to remark, “ If the Swan is a little blind perhaps 
he will shoot it." We did not shoot it, and no wonder, as a 
pair of Hooded Crows, which had a nest in the vicinity, 
