44 THE LIMICOLZ OF THE CLYDE AREA. 
ordinary call-note is a single, clear, plaintive whistle. A 
similar but more hurried note is often heard aloft at night, 
as the birds rush through space. The nest is usually placed 
on rather barren and open ground, often on the bare peat, 
and there is no attempt at concealment. The handsome 
eggs, of which four are a clutch, are sometimes laid on the 
Mearns Moors by the first week of April, but from the 
middle to the end of that month is the usual time, and a 
few nestlings may be seen at greater elevations until the 
third week of July. The young in down are perhaps the 
most beautiful of all our local nesting waders, being delight- 
ful little balls of greenish-yellow fluff, as if intended to 
harmonise with the sphagnum patches. 
Grey Plover (Squatarola helvetica (L.) )—The grey plover 
comes to us from the Arctic circle from September onward. 
It is almost entirely a shore bird, and even there it is seldom 
seen in parties of more than six or eight individuals. On 30th 
September, 1912, Mr Robert Wilson saw from fifty to sixty 
birds pass him singly and in twos and threes during a period 
of about three hours which he spent on the shore at Fairlie. 
This is the greatest number recorded for one day by any 
observer in the Clyde area. I have twice in autumn seen a 
single bird inland, in 1895 and again in 1901, at Balgray Dam 
in East Renfrewshire, and, as far as I know, these are our 
only inland records. The note of the grey plover is quite 
distinct from that of the golden plover, being known as a 
double note, while that of the latter species is known to shore 
shooters as a single note. The birds themselves have usually 
a much lighter appearance than the golden plovers, their large 
dark eyes being most conspicuous against their light plumage. 
They have a good deal of white on the lower back and their 
axillaries are black, while in the golden plover the lower back 
is dull and the axillaries are white. 
*Lapwing (Vanellus vulgaris, Bechstein)—The lapwing is at 
all seasons the most common of our local waders. From 
autumn to spring flocks of several thousands may often be 
seen inland as well as near the sea, unless in severe frost, 
when the inland birds retire to the coast, and many leave our 
area altogether until the return of mild weather. In the 
nesting season it is widely and abundantly distributed, 
affecting all sorts of open ground from the spring-tide mark 
ee 
