REDSHANK 317 



pairing. Then the hen gives the same violent twist that I have just mentioned, 

 he gets shaken off, and they both begin quietly feeding, often side by side. 



The love flight of the redshank is a very striking feature of the 

 courtship and may be seen even after incubation has begun. J. S. 

 Huxley (1912) describes it as follows: 



A redshank rises up into the air, and there flies in a series of switchbacks. 

 Just before the bottom of each switchback he gave very quick wing flaps, almost 

 fluttering, one would call it, this made him start up again. He went on flutter- 

 ing or flapping till he was about halfway up and for the rest of the upstroke 

 of the switchback he soared up with the impetus he had gained. His wings 

 now were set back and down ; his neck and head thrown up in a beautiful proud 

 attitude; his tail spread out. Then he turned the angle of his wings and 

 glided down, still in the same attitude. 



While flying thus he gives vent to what one may call a song — a 

 series of pure, sweet single notes, never uttered on other occasions. 

 The flight may be quite short, or may go on for several minutes. W. 

 Farren (1910) writing of the same love-flight describes the song as 

 " Dhu-lee, dhu-lee, du-lee, du-lee, du-le, dle-dle-dle-dle," the latter part 

 becoming shorted and quicker as it nears the end, when it may be con- 

 tinued to a vanishing point. 



It should be noted that the nightjar-like note already referred to 

 is only used on the second stage of the courtship, yet it was audible 

 at all hours of the day and night from which Huxley deduced that, 

 as only a fraction of the courtships were consummated and the total 

 number of birds did not exceed 50, each bird must pair several times 

 a day. 



The contests between the males seem to be usually of a formal 

 character, but Selous (1906) describes one case where two birds 

 fought with determination, jumping at one another and each attempt- 

 ing to seize the mandibles of the other with its own. 



Nesting. — The Iceland redshank has very similar habits to the 

 ordinary European bird and haunts the swamps and morasses near 

 the sea as well as the neighborhood of the larger lakes inland during 

 the breeding season. Here it nests in colonies, varying in number 

 from five or six to about twenty pairs. The nests are usually some 

 distance apart, and generally well concealed, the sitting bird choos- 

 ing a hollow where the vegetation grows thickest. In the British 

 Isles the common redshank has greatly increased its breeding range 

 during the last 25 years and has gradually made its way inland up the 

 river valleys to many districts where it was previously quite unknown. 

 Here it shares its breeding grounds with the lapwing (Vanelhis 

 vanellus), but the nest is not exposed like that of the latter but neatly 

 hidden at the foot of some tall wisp of dead grass. The bird will 

 even twist the dead grasses together to get the required protection 

 and some nests are so artfully hidden that they can only be found by 



