Herbert Clement Playne and Alexander Frederick Richmond Wollaston

“ From Trondhjem we went to Hammerfest, through fjords which abound in bird-life; but the deck of a steamer is not a good point of observation, for one is only able to have a passing glimpse of a bird before it is out of sight. ”

“ Bramblings, Fringilla montifringilla, were very numerous among the birch trees, and we could nearly always hear the callnote of Parus borealis. This bird has also a song quite unlike any song of P. palustris that we had ever heard. The Lapp Tit, P. cinctus, was often with his cousin, but he seemed a much more silent bird. These were the only Paridæ that we met with until we reached Tervola, half-way between Rovaniemi and Tornea, where a Great Tit, P. major, was seen searching a window-frame for insects. ”

“ We were especially pleased to make sure of a bird which we unwittingly included in our list last year on rather scanty evidence, because we are told on the best authority that it has not been recorded so far north. On Aug. 25th, between Jankala and Takkunen, about twenty miles south of Rovaniemi, we had a good view of a flock of Siskins, Chrysomitris spinus, feeding on the birch trees by the roadside. There was no doubt about them, but in order to have some proof we thought we had better shoot one; however, luckily for the bird, the shot was unsuccessful. ”