134 Letters, Extracts, Notices, §c. 



green vegetation (moss, lichen, wiry grass, and heather only 

 about an inch high) we suddenly and by mere accident came 

 upon four Dotterels feeding among the stones ; and we realized 

 how very easily these quiet little birds might escape notice 

 among the barren tops, even when they were the especial 

 objects of a search. With a wind so keen as to constantly 

 cause one's eyes to fill with tears, one's powers of observa- 

 tion also are materially lessened ! The very tameness of 

 Dotterel is a protection to them, for it would be quite easy to 

 pass within a few yards of them without their rising on the 

 wing or even moving. And brilliant as is the colouring of 

 a full-plumaged Dotterel, when they are quite still among 

 the greys and browns of a mountain-top they are really very 

 inconspicuous. The white coronet on the head is the most 

 conspicuous mark about a Dotterel, and this is especially so 

 when the bird is running away from the observer. But we 

 several times lost sight of one or other of these four, although 

 they were not more than a dozen yards from us. When we 

 had walked within ten yards of them, they even fed towards 

 us, so tame were they. When feeding they pecked about 

 among the moss and grass between the stones, turning up 

 tufts of it and greedily eating something they found under- 

 neath. As usual, they were full of quaint actions, stretching 

 out a wing or leg from time to time; and one bird raised its 

 wings high over its back, the tips being uppermost ; another 

 scratched the side of its head with its foot. Two of these 

 birds were in full dress, though one was finer than the other 

 and really most beautiful. The others were dull-coloured 

 birds, with the yellowish edges to the dorsal feathers broad, 

 and the clear bright markings of the under parts wanting. 



The Dotterel has seldom been recorded from any part of 

 Wales. But I think the fact of our finding some on the same 

 mountain early in May in two successive years points to the 

 probability that they are regular visitors to the Cambrian 

 mountains on their passage northwards in the spring. 



It is, of course, just possible that the Dotterel may breed 

 on some of the tops. The ground looks suitable. But a 



