68 BIRDS OF LOCH AND MOUNTAIN 



of me, uttered a warning "quack," upon which the 

 first duck made off as fast as possible. Possibly 

 the Goosander has always nested with us, as in 

 former times less notice was paid to birds than 

 at the present day ; but keepers seem to be of 

 the opinion that it has increased considerably 

 within recent years, and I hope it will hold its 

 own for many a day to come. 



THE GOLDEN PLOVER 



ONE of the most charming of the birds of the 

 mountain is undoubtedly the Golden Plover (Chara- 

 drius pluvialis), and on vast tracts of desolate 

 moorland its plaintive long-drawn cry is heard 

 at its best. No bird has, I think, such a note of 

 exquisite sadness as the " rain bird," as it is some- 

 times called, on account of its supposed ability to 

 forecast changes in the weather. 



When the soft breezes of spring have melted 

 the winter's snow on the heath-clad hillsides, the 

 Golden Plover appear on the uplands in large 

 flocks. Two years ago the month of March was ex- 

 ceptionally fine and open, and I noted the first 

 flock of Golden Plover on March igth. They had 

 evidently just arrived from the coast, and were 

 busily engaged in searching for food on some sheep 

 pasture in a wild glen. Among them, strange to 

 say, was also a small flock of Starlings. 



Should a large flock of Golden Plover be dis- 

 turbed, it is a wonderful sight to see how they wheel 

 and manoeuvre. They seem to be making straight 

 for a certain point, when suddenly the leader turns 

 almost at right angles, and the whole flock follows 



