276 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Curlew, which are always more bulky. They somewhat 

 closely resemble certain varieties of those of Richard- 

 son's Skua, but may be distinguished from them by 

 ,their slightly larger size and much more pyriform 

 shape. 



Family CHARADRIID^:. Genus PHALAROPUS. 



Sub-family TOTANIN^. 



RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. 



PHALAROPUS HYPER BOREUS (Linnaeus). 



Single Brooded. Laying season, end of May and first half 

 of June. 



BRITISH BREEDING AREA : " Once upon a time " the 

 Red-necked Phalarope bred in the counties of Suther- 

 land, Inverness, and Perth, but the bird now nests 

 nowhere on the mainland of the British Isles. Its 

 breeding area is confined to the Shetlands, the Orkneys, 

 and some few of the Outer Hebrides North and South 

 Uist, Benbecula, etc. Even here it is a rare and re- 

 markably local bird, and destined to ultimate exter- 

 mination if steps are not taken to protect it from the 

 persecutions of oologists and their jackals the trader 

 collectors. 



BREEDING HABITS : The Red-necked Phalarope is a 

 summer migrant to its breeding-grounds in our islands, 

 reaching them towards the end of April or early in 

 May. Its breeding-places are on moors studded with 

 rush-fringed pools at no great distance from the sea. 

 It is probable that this species pairs for life, as it yearly 

 returns to the same places to breed. It is also a 

 gregarious bird during the breeding season, and its nests 



