206 HILL BIRDS OF SCOTLAND 



Plover should it be so unwary as to venture near the 

 nesting grounds of the Feadag. But I have rarely seen a 

 Golden Plover fly out to the attack. 



Not infrequently a big snowfall sweeps over the higher 

 hills during the early days of May, piling up great wreaths on 

 the sheltered south slopes where the Plover nest, and forcing 

 them to leave their eggs. At such times the unfortu- 

 nate birds congregate once more into flocks and frequent 

 the fields at the foot of the glens. If they have only just 

 commenced to brood they will deposit fresh clutches of 

 eggs after the storm and hope for kinder weather conditions. 



It is on account of its gift in foretelling the approach 

 of stormy weather that the Golden Plover has been termed 

 the Rain^Bird. Before rain or wind the birds retire inland, 

 should they be at their winter quarters on the coast, and 

 they are never known to be misled in their forecast. 



The food of the Golden Plover varies with its quarters. 

 When on the moors it often collects in numbers, on some 

 crofter's small field lying in the heart of the hills, to feed 

 on the worms and beetles found amongst the young grass. 

 It is also partial to larvaj and to the seeds of certain 

 plants. The young, too, live chiefly on insects. In 

 winter, when on the coast, the Plovers feed mainly on 

 marine animals, molluscs and the like, but not being 

 equipped with a bill like that of the Curlew, they are 

 at a considerable disadvantage as compared to the latter 

 bird in their food-hunting on the mud-flats. For this 

 reason, perhaps, the Plover is not such a marine feeder 

 as the Curlew, for it frequents the fields bordering on the 

 sea even more than the coast -line itself. During autumn 

 and winter the Golden Plover is much sought after by 

 the shore gunners, for it makes excellent eating. After 

 a time of persecution the birds become wary and difficult 

 to approach, but before they have learnt their lesson, if 

 one out of a flock is shot and falls to the ground its com- 



