394 
Letters, Announcements, tyc. 
“ All these expeditions and explorations of natural resources 
are not without a purpose ! In 1873, the Petchora was visited 
by Austrian travellers under Wilchek, in 1875-6 by the 
English zoologists; and now the advent of the English mer¬ 
chants Bell and Gar dins is expected, arising solely from J ohn 
Brown & Co/s expedition.Why do Russian naturalists 
not care for the Petchora? So many foreigners—scientific 
men and merchants—visit the country, and no Russians; it 
is strange! ” 
The discovery of Anthus gustavi and Phylloscopus tristis 
in the Petchora country is of course quite sufficient to ac¬ 
count for this impending rush of British traders. 
I am, &c., 
Edward R. Alston. 
London, May 26, 1877. 
Sir, —I send you the following notes, trusting they will 
interest the readers of f The Ibis/ 
I have recently received from a gentleman temporarily 
stationed in the mountains of upper Colorado the very inter¬ 
esting nest and eggs of Dendroeca auduboni. It is only the 
second nest of this bird of which any record has been made, 
and differs from the first in many respects: it also shows the 
most eastern and southern point to which the bird has been 
traced in the breeding-season. The nest was taken and the 
parentage of the eggs identified by Mr. Edward Carter, a 
gentleman investigating the ornithology of upper Colorado, 
near Breckenridge Pass in Summit County. 
The two eggs I have, from a set of five, are said to repre¬ 
sent the extremes in their markings. They are, however, 
very much alike. Their ground-colour is a very light green 
or greenish white. One is spotted and blotched, only about 
the larger end, with a wreath of mingled shadings of very 
light lilac, purple, and brown, the extreme ends having a 
circle nearly bare of spots; a waving line of umber, almost 
black in its integrity, extends almost entirely round the egg, 
just within the corona; and there are a few minute dots of the 
same. The other egg has a similar crown, but none of the 
