between the massive rocks and stones with which the ground
is thickly strewn,* or idly basks in a sheltered nook where
the slanting rays of the northern sun shed a warmth that
though feeble is not despicable. Each pair of birds seems
to occupy at this season a limited and almost definite range,
the invasion of which is instantly resented by the cock, who
with a defiant note darts towards the intruder, when there
follows a fierce fight only terminated by the conquest and
flight of one of the antagonists, whereupon the victor returning
to his citadel celebrates the triumph in his loudest
strain and most fantastic dance. Even the fitful changes of
the stormy summer of these countries do not altogether
quell the spirit of this brave little bird, and through driving
sleet or thick fog he may still be heard at his post, while
with the first gleam of sunshine he is again as gay as before.
When his mate is sitting he will often wander to a considerable
distance, but his quickness in perceiving the moment
that she, however silently, leaves the nest is something
wonderful, and his instantaneously rejoining her shews that
he has never been forgetful of his duty. This feature in his
character makes the discovery of the nest by any one who
has a fair amount of patience almost a matter of certainty.
By keeping an eye on the actions of the cock the hen must
sooner or later be found, and if incubation be begun not
many minutes will then pass before she cautiously commences
her return. This she generally accomplishes by a circuitous
route, and, creeping close to the earth, taking advantage of
every inequality of the ground so as if possible to keep out
of the spectator’s sight, her movements are hard to follow,
and occasionally the birds’-nester will find that her ingenuity
has been too much for him. But prudence and a little experience
will generally reward his efforts and enable him to
mark her disappearance in the mass of stones or chink of a
rock in which is the object of her care. Yet to reach the
nest when its place is thus discovered is often a work of toil.
It may be at the end of a long and tortuous approach, re-
* In Arctic America at this time the food is said by Richardson to be buds
,of Saxifraga oppositifolia, one of the earliest of northern plants.
quiring the removal one by one of many stones of various
sizes, it may be ensconced behind some huge boulder which
needs all the engineering resources of the seeker to stir or,
buried securely beneath a slab of earthfast rock, it may completely
defy his power.* Then too his hopes are often disappointed,
for, despite his utmost precautions, at the last
and critical moment some earth or splinters of stone loosened
by lever or wedge may be found to have fallen in upon
and cracked the eggs as they lie. All these circumstances
generally combine to render the successful taking of a
Snow-Bunting’s nest one of the most delicate and exciting
operations on which an oologist can enter, except that
personal danger is seldom if ever involved.!
As is shewn ’by the accumulation of old materials often
found therein, the birds commonly use the same nest-hole
more than once. A rude collection of dry grass, moss or
any other plants that may be growing near forms the foundation
and outworks of the nest. This is hollowed out to
receive a quantity of finer grass and roots substantially
woven into a bowl, which will occasionally bear removal
from the outer mass without losing its shape, and is lined
with hair or soft feathers—especially those of the Ptarmigan
of the country. Herein are laid the eggs, from four to six
or even eight in number, measuring from *91 to *82 by from
•65 to '51 in. They are white, more or less tinged with pale
greenish-blue, on which are patches of lilac, sometimes very
bright but generally dull, the whole closely or sparingly
spotted, streaked and splashed with deep brownish-red, upon
which again are frequently a few apparently black spots and
irregular lines. Borne eggs when fresh are of exceeding and
almost indescribable beauty.
It remains to add that the young, soon after they are
* Capt. Lyons found a nest placed in the bosom of the corpse of an Esquimaux
child on Southampton Island.
*t Pages might be written on the breeding-habits of this species without exhausting
the subject. The Editor has necessarily to be brief here and only to
describe what seems to be absolutely requisite to give a slight notion of them. To
him the Snow-Bunting will always be one of the most interesting of birds, from
the many hours he has passed in watching its behaviour.