Notes on the Breeding Birds of Inch. 187 



their eggs upon the grass, and my brother once found a nest 

 in the centre of a low patch of brambles which formed a 

 canopy over the eggs. Along with the Ringed Plovers a 

 colon}- of the Common Tern (Sterna fluviatilis, Naum.) fre- 

 quent the bank. The Terns arrive about the third week in May, 

 and the eggs are usually laid by the 20th June. The nests 

 are mostly to be found upon the grass, but in a few cases I 

 have seen them upon the sand or gravel. So far as I can find 

 no Arctic Terns breed in this colony. My observations 

 confirm Thompson's statement that the Arctic Tern breeds 

 on the coast and the Common Tern on more inland waters. 



In the first week of June last Mr. John M'Connell, of Burt 

 Slob House, Inch, who takes a great interest in the birds of 

 the district, found the Great Black-backed Guee (Lcttzis 

 marinus, L.) breeding upon the Farland sand-bank. He 

 examined the nest, which contained three eggs. The Great 

 Gulls frequent Inch during the shooting season to prey upon 

 the wounded birds, but never before have I heard of their 

 remaining during the breeding season. The fact of Mr. 

 M'Connell's finding it nesting on a sand bank surrounded by 

 fresh water, and some seventeen miles from the open sea, is 

 most interesting. 



Passing once more to the slobland we find the Lapwing 

 ( Vanellus vulgaris, Bechst.) in great numbers. Its plaintive 

 breeding cry may always be heard as one traverses the ridges 

 on a nest-hunt. On the 4th April, 1893, while watching the 

 Peewits from the embankment with Mr. Gibson, we noticed 

 a male Merlin flying overhead. He had seen three Lapwing 

 below, and like lightning he fell upon one. He missed his 

 mark, but with a sudden and beautiful upward sweep and turn 

 he struck the bird dead to the ground. We lay close, being 

 only some thirty yards distant, and saw the Merlin trying to 

 fly off with his victim. It was evidently too heavy for him, 

 for he dropped it after flying a few yards. We then showed 

 ourselves, and off the Merlin flew to some distance, where he 

 kept beating about for some time, evidently loth to lose his 

 pre} r . When we lifted the Lapwing it was quite dead. 



Along with the Lapwing many Redshank (Totanus calidris 

 L-) nest. The Redshanks leave their winter haunts along the 

 shores during the first and second weeks of April, and about 

 a fortnight later the nests are to be found. These are a little 



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