526 THK FEA'nfEREn aillT'ES, 



but their bill, not imich clel't, is but slightly compressed, not s\velled, and the uj^pcr 

 mandible is slightly arched. Their legs are reticulated. 



THE UOXTERELT,.* 



Of this bird Drayton sings : — 



" The Dottercll, wliicli we think a very daiut y dish, 

 "Whose taking- mulics such sport as man no more can wish : 

 For as you crccpc, or curve, or lye, or stoupc, or goe, 

 So marking- you (witli eare) the apish bird doth doe, 

 And acting everytlung-, d(jth never marii the net. 

 Till he he in the snare, which man for him have set." 



Nor is this a solitary representation of the Dotterell, which accords rather -with poetry 

 than fact. " It has always been considered," says Mr. Selbj-, " a stupid bird, but for what 

 reason I cannot conceive. I allow' that, on its first arrival, it shows but little fear of 

 man ; but this, I apprehend, arises more from inexperience of persecution in its native 

 wdlds, than from any other cause, and which ajDpears evident from the birds, when 

 harassed and repeatedly fired at, soon becoming too cautious to admit of near approach 

 any longer. Their habits also contribute to render them unwary, for being nocturnal 

 feeders (like many others of the Churiadriadce), they are at rest and asleep during the 

 greater j)art of the day, in which state also the golden plover (a wary bird when roused), 

 will frequently admit of a close approach. As to the story of the dotterell mimicking (he 

 actions of the fowler, by stretching out its leg, wing, or head, when he sets the example, 

 it, without doubt, arose from the motions that thej-, as well as other birds, usually and 

 most naturally make when roused from a state of repose ; and which every one who 

 attends to the habits of the feathered race, must (in flocks of gulls, plovers, tringas, &c.) 

 have frequenth' observed." 



" I will now narrate," says T. C. Heysham, Esq., of Carlisle, " as succinctly as jjossible, 

 what has fallen under my own observation relative to the habits and economy of this bird. 

 In the neighbourhood of Carlisle, dotterclls seldom make their appearance before the 

 middle of ]\Iay, about which time they are occasionally seen in different localities, in 

 flocks which vary in number from five to fifteen, and almost invariably resort to heaths, 

 barren pastures, fallow grounds, &c. in open and exposed situations, where the)^ continue, 

 if unmolested, from ten daj's to a fortnight, and then retire to the mountains in the 

 ■\icinity of the lakes to breed. The most favourite breeding-haunts of these birds are 

 always near to or on the summits of the highest mountains, particularly those that arc 

 densely covered with the woolly fringe-moss {Triclioiitomiuu laniKjinosum. — Hedw.), which, 

 indeed, grows more or less profuselj' on nearly all the most elevated parts of this Alpine 

 district.! In these lonely places they constantly reside the whole of the breeding-season, 

 a considerable part of the time enveloped in clouds, and almost daily drenched with rain 

 or wetting mists, so extremely prevalent in these dreary regions ; and there can be little 

 doubt that it is owing to this jDcculiar feature in their economy, that they have remained 

 so long in obscurity during the period of incubation. The dotterell is by no means a 

 solitary bird at this time, as a few pairs usual!}' associate together, and live, to all appear- 

 ance, in the greatest harmony. These birds do not make any nest, but deposit their 

 eggs, which seldom exceed three in number, in a small cavity on drj' ground co\ercd 

 with A-egetation, and generally near a moderate sized stone or iragmont ol' rock. 

 In early seasons old females w'ill occasionally begin to lay their eggs about the 26th of 



* Carndri h Morinellus. — I'enii. 



•'r "Tliefu oiirite hrccdiii),'-stati()iis of the dotterell arc fre(]Uenlly called sniidle-places by some of the 

 guides and un^'ers at Keswick.'' 



