184 HILL BIRDS OF SCOTLAND 



think that of all " waders " the Curlew at times chooses 

 the most swampy localities in which to nest. Usually 

 the wariest of birds, she occasionally shows a confidence 

 which is quite surprising. On one occasion I came across 

 a Curlew's nest where the owner did not appear to be 

 so unapproachable as is generally the case, and so I deter- 

 mined to attempt to secure some photographs of her on 

 the nest. It needed only two or three visits to implant 

 a surprising amount of confidence into my " sitter," for 

 at the end of this period I was able, by careful stalking, 

 to ajiproaeh to within a distance of six feet and to erect 

 a half-plate camera without causing her to leave her eggs. 

 And yet this bird, which was, to all appearances, a model 

 mother, brought off three of her young, and then left the 

 nest with them, abandoning her fourth egg, in which 

 was a fully-developed chick — a chick which would have 

 emerged from the shell if its mother had waited on only 

 a few more hours. 



A little earlier in this chapter I mentioned that the 

 eggs of the Curlew were usually, though not invariably, 

 placed in the nest with their small ends towards the 

 centre. In such a position they take up less space, but 

 a Curlew of my acquaintance evidently had her own 

 ideas on the subject, and never, to my knowledge, had 

 her eggs placed in the position favoured by every self- 

 respecting member of the great family of " waders." 

 A photograph of this particular nest is given as one of 

 the illustrations of this chapter. 



Although the Curlew is never met with far from the 

 hills, still its nest is rarely placed at a greater elevation 

 than 2000 feet above sea-level. It thus does not frequent 

 the high hills where the Golden Plover has its home. A 

 country entirely given over lo heather is not looked on 

 favourably by the Whaup, for here is an absence of its 

 staple food — of worms and other dainties, which it probes 



