the Birds of the Lower Petchora. 109 
as well as the creeping birch. In the more sheltered hollows 
dwarf-willow copses gave variety to the scene. 
The short arctic summer on the tundra must be a mil- 
lennium for insect-eating birds. Mosquitoes abounded to such 
an extent that life without a ‘komarnik,’ or mosquito-veil, 
would probably have been simply unbearable, if not impos- 
sible. We were also obliged to wear cavalry-gauntlets to 
protect our hands. Our gloves and veils were a complete 
protection; but we suffered very much from the heat and 
closeness. Fortunately, however, we frequently had a few 
days’ grace. A cold north-east wind came down from the 
arctic ice; the mosquitoes vanished like magic; and we were 
often compelled to put on our fursagain. We were obliged to 
take active exercise to keep ourselves warm; but we were 
only too glad that the plague of mosquitoes was for the time 
stayed. 
We found most of the birds in the valley of the Petchora 
to be somewhat local, though perhaps scarcely so much so as 
they were observed to be in the valley of the Dwina by Alston 
and Harvie Brown. Even on the comparatively monotonous 
tundra we found this to be the case; and we soon gave names 
to the different sorts of ground. The dry grassy hills are the 
Shore-Lark ground. The dead flat bog intersected with tus- 
socky ridges is the Grey-Plover ground. The swampy marsh 
covered with long grass is the Reeve-ground. Ifin the centre 
of this there 1s any open water, it becomes Phalarope-ground. 
If the grass is shorter and more tangled and knotted it be- 
comes Dunlin-ground; and if this short grassy swamp is. 
sprinkled over with tussocks of turf covered with moss and 
flowers, then it becomes Lapland-Bunting or Red-throated- 
Pipit ground. When the tussocks are close together, and 
the swampy ground is almost hidden, or traceable only by 
rows of cotton-grass, then we called it Little-Stint ground. 
If we came upon a thicket of dwarf willow on the tundra, we 
expected to find a brace of Willow-Grouse or a pair of Wood- 
Sandpipers. The sandy shore of a lake was generally fre- 
quented by Ring-Dotterel. The dense willow thickets on the 
islands always swarmed with Yellow-headed Wagtails ; and if 





