Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 3 (1899).djvu/82

58 Ruticilla phœnicurus.—We only once identified the Redstart, in the lower part of the Tromsdal, to wit, on July 15th.

Erithacus rubecala.—The Robin seems to be a shy woodland bird in Norway. Several were singing at Lyngseidet about 1 a.m. on the 17th, as the dull morning light strengthened.

Saxicola œnanthe.—A pair of Wheatears, with their brood, on rough ground below the birch woods, were amongst the first birds that we saw at Tromsö. Two days later another pair upon the rocky shore of Grindö had young just flying. On July 23rd we met with this species on an islet off Store Molle, in the Lofotens.

Turdus iliacus.—Our first day at Tromso, spent in the birch woods in pouring rain, introduced us to the Redwing's song of a few whistling or piping notes. Sometimes a young bird which had left the nest would bustle out of the top of a birch tree with a chuckle. The old birds which had young were exceedingly fussy. Thus on the 13th, in the woods at the base of Flöifjeld, a Redwing clucked and scolded persistently like a Song Thrush as it flew round us, but we could find nothing. A second pair, in a great state of excitement, led to a search, with the result that we put up some of their young ones just flying. Two or three Redwings were singing in the woods at Lyngseidet in heavy rain early on the morning of the 17th. Owing to its shyness, or to its habit of not breeding in colonies, this species appears to be far less numerous than the Fieldfare, but such can hardly be the case in reality, judging from the numbers which visit us in winter. While the Fieldfare sits boldly, the Redwing slips off its nest at the approach of an intruder; so that its eggs are not easily identified. A nest found on July 19th on the far side of the island was attributed to this species. The eggs, which were warm, were not to be distinguished with certainty from Fieldfares', but, though we watched for some time, no Fieldfare appeared to lay claim to them, while the Redwings were close at hand and vociferous.

T. pilaris.—We met with Fieldfares in every locality visited, even on Skjervö, where the birches were very small; but in Lofoten, where wood was scanty and of low growth, we only came across them upon one occasion. A first day in the woods at Tromsö, in steady rain, had yielded little, when the excited