THE DOTTEREL 163 



only for its flesh, which is or was considered a 

 great delicacy, but for the sake of its feathers, 

 which are used in the makino- of artificial flies 

 for fishermen. As the bird was extremely fat, 

 especially in spring, it was caught before it had 

 time to breed, and hence its numbers gradually 

 diminished. The bird still breeds, we believe, on 

 the hills in the Lake District as well as on the 

 Cheviots, but in numbers that are decreasing. 

 Farther north, we are glad to say, it breeds in 

 greater numbers on the hills of Dumfriesshire, on 

 the Grampians in North Perthshire, and on the 

 borders of Inverness-shire, and in Ross and Banif- 

 shire. It has been found nesting in the Orkneys, 

 but appears only to pass the Shetlands on migration. 

 Elsewhere in our islands the Dotterel can only be 

 regarded as a casual visitor or a passing migrant. 

 If the Wild Birds Protection Acts were better 

 enforced, there can be little doubt that the Dotterel 

 would increase in numbers in Britain ; but other- 

 wise the species is bound to decrease and possibly 

 become extinct. Beyond our limits the Dotterel 

 has a wide range, breeding on the tundras above 

 the limits of forest growth across Europe and 

 Asia, and at high elevations on the Alps. In 

 winter it is found in the basin of the Mediterranean, 



