DOTTEREL. 1 95 



uplands, the bird is most difficult to see. It is a squat and 

 plump, round-headed, short-billed plover ; its most character- 

 istic markings are the curved white streak above the eye which 

 meets its fellow on the nape, and the white band that divides 

 the slaty-brown upper breast from the chestnut and black 

 below. What the bird gains from the protection of its colora- 

 tion it loses through its stupid tameness ; it is one of our 

 easiest birds to approach. Towards the end of April or early 

 in May " trips," as the small parties are called, arrive in 

 England ; some, probably passage birds, travel slowly along 

 the coast, but others follow ancient inland routes, halting at 

 certain oft-frequented spots to feed or rest. The trips comprise 

 from five to a score of birds, and their arrival is, or was, 

 watched for keenly, for the Dotterel has always had a high 

 money value, originally for its flesh, but later for its plumage ; 

 inconsiderate fishermen demand certain feathers for artificial 

 flies. The travellers are tired and stupid, and if shot at will 

 settle again at once ; it was not uncommon for the whole trip 

 to be wiped out ; within recent years similar massacres have 

 come under my notice. The birds are regular visitors to the 

 Pennines, the Yorkshire moors, and the Cheviots, and certain 

 spots on the Lancashire coast are used as annual halts. Egg 

 collecting is responsible for further diminution in numbers, 

 but is less to blame than the wholesale- destruction of the 

 recently arrived immigrants. The return passage is in August 

 and September. 



The food either on the hills or the rough pastures, when on 

 migration, mainly consists of insects and their larvae, though 

 worms and molluscs are also eaten. Like other plovers the 

 Dotterel runs for a foot or two, then stops and tilts forward to 

 pick up its food, and between its runs often stretches its long- 

 wings above its back. Ancient myth afiirms that the wing and 

 leg stretching was imitation of the actions of the fowlers as 

 they lured or drove the bird to its doom. On the wing the 



