the Birds of the Lower Petchora. 439 
loudly proclaimed our unwelcome presence, and, moreover, 
the somewhat open willow-scrub offered but a very insuffi- 
cient means of concealment. The mosquitos too bit badly, 
and we had no veils. We consoled ourselves with the fact 
that the four eggs were very large, and finally gave in, 
took them, and the next day continued our voyage until 
we arrived at Alexievka. On the islands of the delta our 
men searched diligently for Swans’ nests, incited by the offer 
of a reward of five roubles for the eggs and bird of any species 
of Swan, which reward we promised to any one, either of our 
own men or of the Zyriani workmen, who would bring them 
to us. ‘Two or three nests were found. At one a trap was 
set by Simeon and Little Feodor, which was too weak to 
hold the bird. The two eggs of this nest were smaller than 
any we had yet got. All chance of identifying these was 
lost, as the Swan had gone into the trap and left in it only a 
few feathers. Atanother nest we watched a whole day and 
night in a small branch-hut which had been erected previous 
to our own arrival at the spot, and which was quite sufficient 
in itself to scare any Swan away. Piottuch and Harvie 
Brown relieved one another at the post, but, it is almost need- 
less to say, without success; indeed the watch was kept up 
more for the purpose of doing all possible justice to the finder 
than with any expectation of getting a shot. This nest was 
in the midst of dense jungle of willow-scrub between two 
small lakes. There were no tracks leading to it made by the 
birds; and the only way they could have come to it must have 
been from above. 
It is needless to recount more failures. Suffice it to say 
that the difficulties of finding a Swan’s nest and afterwards 
of obtaining the bird it belonged to are very considerable 
in these densely covered islands of the Petchora delta. Had 
we possessed a good steel trap or two, perhaps we should 
have had better success, perhaps not. 
At last, one day, the 29th June, a Russian fisherman arrived 
in his boat at Alexievka, having come from his fishing-encamp- 
ment lower down the river. He brought with him some 
eges, and amongst them two very small Swan’s eggs, which 









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