530 niV FFATHF.RFn TI^TBKS. 



There are a few of the wadiiig ijirds not j-et mentioned, at wliich we may glance at tlie 

 close of the description of this interesting order. 



TJIE DUNLIN.* 



This bird is common all lound tlie British Islands, and breeds plentifully on the Arctic 

 coasts of America. Its length is about eight inehes. It has a mixture of black and 

 ferruginous on the top of the head, the centre of each feather being- occnpied by the dark 

 colour. The breast is niott]<"- black and white. The tail-feathers, except the two middle 

 ones, which are of a dark-brown, are of an a.sh-gray. 



Mr. Macgillivray, in a communication to Mr. Andubon, says: "About the middle of 

 April these birds betake themselves to the moors, in the northern part of Scotland, and 

 in the larger Hebrides, where they may be found scattered in the haunts selected by the 

 golden plovers, with which they are so frequently seen in company, that they have 

 obtained the name of plovers' pages. In the Hebrides, from this season until the end of 

 August, none are to be found along tlie shores. The nest is a slight hollow in a dry 

 place, having a few bits of withered heath and grass irregularly placed in it. The eggs 

 are four in number. If, during incubation, a person ap2:)roaches their retreats, the male 

 especially, but frequently the female also, flies up to meet the inti'uder, settles on a tuft 

 near him, or runs along and uses the same artifices for decoying him from the nest or 

 young as the plover or ring dotterell. Towards the end of August, the different colonies 

 betake themselves to the sandy shores. On a large sand-ford in Harris, I have at this 

 season seen many thousands at once, running about with extreme activity in search of 

 food. This i^lace seemed a general rendezvous, and after a few weeks the host broke up 

 and dispersed, few. if any, remaining during the winter." 



THE flRI.EW.f 



The genus called JS^uiiiciiiiis is characterised by a long, slender, incurved bill, slightly 

 compressed, and furrowed for three- fourths of its length ; it has a blunt tip. The wings 

 are ample. The tarsi are slender, and naked above the joints. 



Of the European species Mant says : — 



" Along the salt sca"s oozy verge, 

 AVhcn wnftcd high tlif cbliiiig .siivgo. 

 Unsheltered leaves the shelly fVv, 

 Hark! the oirlew's tinnultnous crv ; 

 Not as. remote from hiniian sight. 

 In lonely paii's their vernal tiiglit 

 They speed o'er heathy mountain i nde. 

 Or some waste niarsli's solitude, 

 To the tall grass or bristling reed 

 Their wild unnestled young to breed ; 

 And now along the peopled coast, 

 In densely congregated host, 

 Yet heedful of the tluindering gun, 

 Alcift on bhush legs tlicy run, 

 Or delve with slender bill and bowed 

 The yielding sand ; or shouting loud, 

 To warn their comrades of the way, 

 Lest darkling from the line (hey stray, 

 Wake the dull night witli startling sounds ; 

 AVdl might you deem tlie deep-mouthed hounds 

 liaised in full cit the liuntsnian's peal, 

 Or clamound f(ir thiii- morning meal." 



* Tringn Vnvinbilis + Xumenius .■\n|antu'<. 



