DUNLIN. 279 



placed in a tussock of grass or rushes, or beneath a 

 little bush of heather or bilberry, or even amongst 

 patches of thrift on bare sandy soil. It is a slight 

 structure, a mere hollow lined with a few dead leaves 

 and bits of dry grass, with perhaps a few twigs or roots 

 round the margin. The bird is a close sitter, but when 

 disturbed will often engage in alluring antics to arrest 

 attention from its eggs. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Dunlin are four in number, and pyri- 

 form in shape. They vary from pale olive to pale 

 brown and buff in ground colour, handsomely blotched 

 and spotted with rich reddish and blackish brown, and 

 with a few obscure underlying markings of gray. They 

 are generally very boldly marked, especially on the 

 larger end, where the blotches and splashes frequently 

 become confluent and hide most of the ground colour. 

 Occasionally a few nearly black streaks occur on the 

 larger end of the o.'g^ : a less frequent variety has the 

 spots smaller and more evenly distributed over the 

 entire surface. Average measurement, i'^ inch in 

 length, by '95 inch in breadth. Incubation, performed 

 by the female, lasts twenty-one or twenty-two days. 



Diagnostic characters ; The eggs of the Dunlin 

 cannot be easily confused with those of any other allied 

 species breeding in the British Islands, being readily 

 distinguished by their size and their handsome, well- 

 marked appearance. Some eggs closely resemble those 

 of the Common Snipe, but their size prevents any 

 possibility of confusion. 



