Noy. 1907. | A WEST OF SCOTLAND GARDEN. 301 
apparently getting ready to leave. In 1903, and also in 
1904, broods were also hatched. 
“Tt is very interesting to watch the parent birds with their 
young upon the shore. The moment the parents call ‘ twee- 
wee-wee’ the little ones crouch motionless and cannot be 
distinguished from the stones of the beach. It is much 
more difficult for them to hide when on the grass or in the 
garden, but it is surprising how quickly the little creatures 
find cover when the warning of the parents is heard. The 
parents were terribly excited when the young ones were 
among the big laurels and rhododendrons on the bank ; but 
they became much more easy in mind when they saw their 
young on the lawn-tennis ground or the grass in the open 
part of the garden. At times a parent bird perches on the 
post of a pillar rose and watches how the little ones are 
getting on—surely an unusual thing for a shore bird. 
“ After the young birds have got safely to the shore and can 
fly, the family party sometimes comes back to the garden ; but 
when the young are fully grown the garden is no longer visited, 
the birds being seen only on the beach or near the shore. 
“ After the nests had been for two seasons on the rockery 
near the tennis court, the dunlins had become wonderfully 
tame, so that though I or the gardener came near when the 
hen was hatching, it sat quiet and seemingly unconcerned. 
“ Motacilla flava (blue-headed yellow wagtail)..—We first 
observed this wagtail in March 1901, and we have seen it 
often since. Seebohm says of it: ‘It is chiefly known as an 
accidental straggler on migration to our islands’; and Gordon 
writes: ‘Has occasionally bred in Durham; but generally 
a straggler over here on migration.’ There is, however, no 
doubt that it is a regular visitor at Rosneath, and that it 
breeds here. In December 1906 I was glad to find it at 
Christchurch, Hampshire, in Mr. Hart’s delightful collection, 
and I was much interested to learn from him that it breeds 
regularly at Christchurch. He was interested to hear of it 
being found at Rosneath, and said that he had often thought 
it curious that it was not known and acknowledged as a 
regular British bird. 
“ During March, April and May 1901 we often saw a pair 
1 Mr. Wm. Evans, F.R.S.E., says this description applies to the Grey 
Wagtail Motacilla melanope.—Ep. 
