the Birds of the Lower Petchora. 443 
(Ibis, 1873, p. 71). Only one bird, a male, was identified 
at Ust Zylma, on the 19th June; and on our voyage down 
the river only one other, a female, was seen. The Zyriani 
at Alexievka brought in only one set of eggs, along with the 
down ; and upon an island called Glubauki*, opposite Sta- 
navolalachta, we found another nest containing two eggs. 
There was very little down in this last nest wherewith to 
identify the eggs; but we distinctly saw both birds: the male 
alighted at the entrance of a narrow lane of water amongst 
the grass which led to the nest; and on being joined by the 
female, both flew off to their feeding-grounds. 
ANAS CRECCA, L. 
Teal were first seen and one shot on the 18th May as a 
small party of them dashed along the course of the stream 
formed by the melting snow, which came surging down 
the valley behind the town of Ust Zylma. We also shot Teal 
on the meadows on the banks of the Zylma the night before 
the ice broke up, and procured several nests of eggs at Ha- 
bariki and on the Yorsa; but we did not see any among the 
islands of the delta, nor upon the tundra. 
It is somewhat remarkable that we saw nothing of the com- 
mon Wild Duck (Anas boschas) on the Petchora, though it 
is a common species around Archangel (Ibis, 1873, p. 71) ; 
and as it is so generally distributed throughout Europe, 
we consider this negative evidence worthy of record. 
Anas acuta, L. 
The Pintail was first identified on the morning of the 18th 
May, when three birds flew close overhead. On the evening 
of the same day we accompanied MM. Znaminsky and Sa- 
charoff to the feeding-grounds on the banks of the Zylma, 
where we found vast numbers of Ducks congregated. From 
what we saw that night and the following day we believe 
that nine tenths of the many thousands of Ducks identified 
belonged to this species. When the ice broke up on the 
Zylma on the morning of the 20th May, these great flocks 
dispersed or repaired en masse to some more northern locality ; 
* Lit. deep water. 























