54 THE LIMICOLE OF THE CLYDE AREA, 
species by the shore most of the year, but less numerous in 
summer, when most of the birds have retired inland or farther 
north to breed. The curlew is often heard by night as well as 
by day passing overhead in the vicinity of Glasgow in every 
month of the year, though less frequently in the winter 
months. Many of these passing birds are on their way from 
the Forth to the Clyde or vice versa. 
The curlew is a common nesting species on nearly all our 
moors and rough upland pastures. Where the ground is suit- 
able, as in some parts of Bute, it nests close to the shore. I 
have seen a nest at Garroch Head just above high-water mark. 
Nesting begins about the middle of April, the nest with its 
four eggs, very large for the size of the bird, being placed 
among grass, heather, or low-growing bog-myrtle. The curlew 
is a most wary bird, and does not permit of a near approach, 
but its wild cry of “‘cowrlie, courlie, courlie” resounding over 
the wilderness is sweet music to the ornithologist. It has 
another note like “ whaup, whaup” which it repeats many 
times, beginning slowly but finishing rapidly. It is from this 
“whaup, whaup” note that our Scottish name for the bird is 
derived. 
Whimbrel (V. pheopus (L.))—A bird of passage passing 
north from the end of April through May, though a bird or 
two may be observed in any of the summer months. Fewer 
birds are noticed on the return passage in autumn than in 
spring. It may be that the whimbrel is more silent in autumn 
and consequently not so easily detected, as it is usually by its 
distinct call “‘tetty, tetty, tetty, tet” that one knows of its 
presence. It is most often seen near the sea, but it is fre- 
quently observed inland. The greatest number I have seen 
together was seventeen in one flock on 28th April, 1900, 
resting in a grass field near the shore at St. Ninian’s Bay, 
Bute. 
