624 THE BIRDS OF YORKSHIRE, 



placed either on dry ground, or in very shallow water, not 

 remote from the reeds, among which the fowler conceals him- 

 self, till the birds, enticed by a ' stale ' or stuffed bird, come 

 under the nets ; he then, by pulling a string, lets them fall." 



The Rev. F. O. Morris stated (" British Birds "), that it 

 was common on Hatfield Moor, near Thorne, and on Skipwith 

 Common, near Selby, about 1824 (see Allis). According to 

 Hatfield's " Historical Notices of Doncaster " (1866, p. 24), 

 " The Ruff once bred near the Decoy (Potteric Carr) and 

 the Moor Buzzard has been known to build among the ling, 

 a fact often observed by Mr. Reid." This statement receives 

 important confirmation from A. G. More, of the Science 

 and Art Museum, Dublin, who, writing under date of i6th 

 June 1881, says : " In his list, Mr. H. Reid remarks of the Ruff, 

 ' None left, once plentiful, I have taken numbers of them.' 

 This was probably near Hatfield Moor, where the Black-tailed 

 Godwit used to breed, but Mr. Reid did not give me any 

 locality ; I think he was in communication with the Rev. 

 F. O. Morris, who gives Hatfield as a locality." Another 

 breeding ground of this bird, until the early part of last 

 century, was Riccal Common, near Selby, and I have seen 

 several adult examples, in Capt. Dunnington-Jefferson's 

 collection at Thicket Priory, which were taken in that 

 neighbourhood. 



In the Western Ainsty it was formerly common at Wighill 

 Ings, and bred at Newton Kyme ; the latest instance of its 

 appearance in that area was in September 1905, when one 

 was reported near Harrogate. 



The Holderness district was eminently suitable for the 

 requirements of the Ruff before drainage and high cultivation 

 banished it, and other marsh-loving birds, from the fastnesses 

 they frequented ; up to about a hundred years ago it bred 

 near the sites of Meaux, Watton, and Scorborough Decoys, 

 and on the Carrs through which the river Hull runs. Birds 

 of this species are still often observed there, which suggests 

 they are guided by the old instinct and would probably breed 

 again if the conditions were favourable. In the Zoologist 

 for 1864 (p. 9362), the late W. W. Boulton mentioned facts 



