206 BRITISH BIRDS. 



this he would dash off once more across the marsh uttering 

 a warbling- sort of song" much like that of the Ringed 

 Plover. Then he would settle in a reedy spot, such as 

 would be chosen for the nesting site, and would call 

 vigorously, looking always in the direction of the female, 

 as if expecting her to follow. I observed several pairs 

 behaving in this manner, and such was their fervour that 

 the males continued this performance even in the midst 

 of one of the worst storms we experienced. Often the 

 female would resent these attentions, and a pitched battle 

 would ensue. 



As a last resource we dragged the boat across to another 

 arm of the loch, and explored an island inhabited by some 

 fifty pairs of Arctic Terns and a few pairs of Common 

 and Black-headed Gulls. To our surprise we also dis- 

 covered two pairs of Phalaroj)es. The male of one pair 

 showed signs of great anxiety and flew round uttering 

 shrill cries. We were not long in finding the cause, for 

 staggering amongst the grass, and looking like gigantic 

 spiders, were four fluffy young-, evidenth' newly-hatched. 



The extreme attachment which the male exhibited for 

 the young- would hardly be credited. He uttered the 

 most heartrending- cries, shuffled through the grass and, 

 in fact, tried every device to lure us awa}'. The young- 

 were so weak that Avhen j)laced in a slight hollow they 

 were unable to crawl out and run away. The camera was 

 focussed on the young at a distance of a few feet, and 

 left without any covering whatsoever, and I took my stand 

 behind it, merely wrapping- up my head in the focussing- 

 cloth. The extreme tameness of the male may be judged 

 by the fact that I obtained five photographs of him in 

 as many minutes. When I changed the plate he would 

 just run away a few yards and then hurry back as fast as 

 he could directly I sat down again. 



The most pathetic part of the scene came when the 

 piping of the young, which were evidently benumbed with 

 exposure, became almost too feeble to be audible, then in 

 his fervour the male nestled a clutch of Tern's eggs close 



