Bums OF Glencairn. 151 



a g-ood season like the present in coveys of very larg-e numbers. 

 It has been remarked by many that however many you may leave 

 on a hill they do not seem to increase at all. They are also very 

 wild on the hills, and very hard to follow up and get a shot at. 

 I noticed a brood as early as the 10th of May on one of our 

 highest and remotest hills. 



CiiMMON Quail {Coturtds communis). 



I believe one was noticed a number of years ago. 



Golden Plover {Charadrius dominiaci). 



A few pairs nest each spring on some of the remoter hills of 

 the district. 



Peewit oe Crested Lapwing ( Vanellus vulgaris). 



Plentiful, and seemingly on the increase, doubtless through 

 the protective laws enacted these past years. If the winter is an 

 open one flocks remain inland. During cold weather they remain 

 by the sea. 



Heron [Ardea cinerea). 



The Heron formei-ly bred in Cairnhead, but through the trees 

 being cut and the birds shot, have not done so for a great many 

 years. During the early autumn a good number inhabit the river 

 Cairn and where there are good feeding grounds. 



Curlew {Ninnenius atquahis). 



Considerable numbers nest each season throughout the dis- 

 trict. They usually return from the coast about the middle of 

 February if not severe fiost, leaving in the autumn, by October. 



Redshank or Red Leg (To/anus c'alidris). 



Five years since this bird was but a rare visitor. Now a 

 pair may be heard, if not seen, around any marshy land in the 

 nesting season. It has rather a melancholy pipe, which it gives 

 fully on the slightest sign of an intruder. 



Common Sandpiper {Totanus hypoleucus). 



Generally makes its appearance about the middle of April, 

 when it distributes itself pretty well along the whole stretch of 

 the river Cairn. Leaves for the coast not later than the end of 

 Aug-ust. 



