DOTTEEEL 151 



^e saw nothing to suggest the existence of a nuptial song flight, but 

 further observations at this period would be of great interest. 



Nesting. — In Scotland and the English lake district the breeding 

 haunts of this species must be looked for at about 2,500 to 3,500 feet 

 or even higher, not on the mountain tops, but on plateaus or slopes 

 below the highest points. Here, where the only vegetation consists 

 of a scanty growth of heather mixed with wiry grass, mosses and 

 lichens, and occasional fragments of gray rock crop out here and 

 there, the dotterel is at home. Few living things haunt their soli- 

 tudes; a stray raven or eagle may pass over occasionally, but as a 

 rule there is hardly a sign of life anywhere. There is some evidence 

 that one or two " scrapes " are made by one pair of birds, but we 

 have no information as to which of the two is responsible for making 

 the hollow. The eggs are laid in a natural depression adapted by 

 the bird, roughly about three and one-half inches across and fairly 

 deep, as a rule, but generally filled with fragments of lichen or the 

 red leaves of the cranberry, so that the eggs are not difficult to see 

 though their coloring harmonizes with the surroundings. 



Eggs. — Normally three, but frequently two only, while instances 

 of four are comparatively rare. They are more elliptical and less 

 pyriform than most waders' eggs and are not unlike some types 

 of eggs of the Arctic tern, though almost always more boldly blotched. 

 In color they range from yellowish olive to clay color, occasionally 

 with a greenish tinge and are boldly spotted and blotched with deep 

 blackish brown and a few ashy shell marks. The average of 100 

 British eggs, measured by the writer is 41.1 by 28.8 millimeters; the 

 eggs showing the four extremes measure 46.7 by 31.3, 44.5 by 31.5, 

 37.5 by 29 and 41.6 by 27.4 millimeters. 



The sexes are not easy to distinguish in the field, but nearly all the 

 positive evidence from birds shot off the eggs goes to prove that the 

 male is generally to be found incubating. H. H. Slater shot two 

 males from eggs. H. J. Pearson and Gloger had similar experiences, 

 and Bengt Berg, who has watched this bird at close quarters, says 

 that only the male incubates. Many accounts have been published 

 of the behavior of the sitting bird. When flushed from the eggs it 

 returns by a circuitous route, cowering like a mouse, as one observer 

 describes it, sometimes stopping to look round and sometimes doub- 

 ling back on his tracks like a hunted hare, but all the time, in 

 spite of the numerous turns and twists, gradually approaching the 

 eggs to which at last a short direct run is made. Viewed from 

 behind the bird is exceedingly difficult to follow with the eye in its 

 environment, so that close watching is necessary to mark it down. 

 When the nest has once been discovered, or if the bird is brooding 

 2316—29 11 



