Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 3 (1899).djvu/83

Rh scolding of a pair of Fieldfares called attention to their nest with three eggs, about seven feet from the ground against the trunk of a small birch. Several pairs were breeding in birches beside the track which led through the woods to Sandnaes, but in this and other cases the pairs were too few and too scattered to deserve the name of a colony. One bird was sitting upon three eggs, while two more were built into the bottom of the nest. Next day (July 13th), in the large woods at the base of Flöifjeld, we met with nests the contents of which varied from a single fresh egg to young birds which flew as we knocked the trunk of the tree. In one nest the four eggs were all above the usual size, one of them very decidedly so, measuring 1·35 by ·95 in.; while the average dimensions, as given by Howard Saunders, are 1·2 by ·85 in. But most of the nests were empty, probably in consequence of an earlier raid by collectors. Next day, upon Grindö, we found a nest with two fresh eggs. In the Tromsdal, on the 15th, leaving the track, which was thronged with tourists making for the Lapp encampment, we found a large colony of Fieldfares, but the birches were very awkward to climb, many of them being mere poles about thirty feet in height, and too slender to support a man's weight. On the 19th, on the far side of the island, nests still contained eggs or young in various stages of growth. Eggs from the same nest often showed very varied degrees of incubation, and sometimes no two young ones of a brood were of the same size. One nest was not more than 3 ft. 9 in. from the ground. Many birds, having finished breeding, were scattered over the clearings, feeding upon berries. On July 22nd, at Stokmarknaes, we climbed to many nests, but all were empty with the exception of a single one, which contained four well-fledged young. A few old birds were noisy, but many young ones were flying, and the breeding season was evidently over. I should much doubt whether in these latitudes the Fieldfare attempts two broods; it was difficult to form an opinion on the point at Tromsö, owing to the probability of the birds having been disturbed.

T. torquatus.—The Ring Ouzel was seen at Skjervö, about the high rocky part of the island, where, amongst crowberry and heather, Gulls were breeding. While waiting for a view of the midnight sun, we noticed that for about half an hour birds were