Mr. R. Collett on Phylloscopus borealis. 219 
in woods of Pinus cembra and Pinus pichta; and he describes 
the nest in the following terms (Jonrn. f. Ornith. 1872, 
p. 359 ):—“ Er macht es in der Form einer Hiitte, indem er 
dem vorhandenen Grase oder Moose die Gestalt eines Gewol- 
bes giebt. Das letzte hebt er von der Erde etwas in die Hohe 
und glattet es aus, nnd erst unter diesem natiirlichen Gewolbe 
macht er ein Lager yon lanter trockenen Zirbelbaumnadeln 
(P. cembra). Auf diese Weise hat er eigentlichkein Nest, es 
ist nur ein natiirliches Gewolbe nnd ein Lager.” It will be 
seen that none of the nests described below exhibited a trace 
of the peculiarity of construction described by Dybowski. 
On July 6, 1877, at Egaska, on the Yenesei, a little north 
of the Arctic Circle (67°), Mr. Seebohm found a nest with 
five fresh eggs (which were rather larger than those of P. 
trochilus) of a white colour, with very pale red spots. The 
nest was built on the ground in a rather open wood, on the 
side of a tussock, between grass and other plants, and was 
semidomed and composed only of dry straws, without feathers 
or moss ( f Ibis/ 1879, p. 9). 
As my sojourn in Finmark in 1885 was just in the districts 
where this species is found more or less frequently, I did my 
best to trace out its breeding-habits in our country; and 
my efforts were at least partially successful. 
At Matsjok, the last large tributary of the Tana river 
before its outlet to the sea, I met with the first specimen on 
June 22nd, and they were then evidently just arrived, as the 
season was unusually little advanced. The next day it was 
heard to sing for the first time. In a female shot on the 
26th (at Polmak) the eggs in the ovary were but little deve¬ 
loped, scarcely so large as hemp seeds; and when on June 30th 
I left the valley for some time, the breeding-season had not 
commenced, although it was evident that the birds had 
paired and had probably commenced to build. 
When, on July 11th, in company with my friend Mr. 
Landmark, a zealous oologist, I arrived at the Pasvig river 
in South Yaranger, P. borealis appeared to be just in the 
middle of its breeding-season; but during the few days we 
spent in that locality we did not succeed, although we spared 
R 2 
