BIRDS OF LOCH AND MOUNTAIN 81 



Crow family on the other hand lay comparatively 

 small eggs, for their young have no need of any 

 exceptional strength, as they remain in a safe nest 

 for many weeks and all their food is brought to 

 them by their parents. As an illustration of this, 

 the egg of the Golden Eagle is only slightly larger 

 than that of the Curlew, although the former is a 

 very much larger bird. 



The eggs of the Curlew vary greatly in colouring, 

 even in the same nest. Sometimes the ground 

 colour is buff, at other times green, and the spots 

 and blotches vary greatly both in size and shape. 

 The eggs are beautifully coloured, and harmonise 

 completely with their surroundings, so that you 

 might almost tread upon them and be none the 

 wiser. 



The Curlew which I was fortunate enough to 

 photograph was an exceptionally confiding bird ; 

 and after a good deal of perseverance I succeeded 

 in picturing her on the nest. The first time she 

 saw me she rose when I was about 200 yards away, 

 and I never dreamt of photographing her. I re- 

 turned with my camera a day or two later, in order 

 to photograph the nest. This time the bird allowed 

 me to approach within 100 yards or so, but even 

 then I had not hopes of " taking " her. 



About a week afterwards I again visited the nest, 

 and to my astonishment was able to photograph 

 the sitting bird at a distance of some 50 feet. Every 

 day or so I managed to get a little nearer, until at 

 last I fixed up the camera within about 8 feet 

 of the nest, and obtained a good photograph. 

 Had I been a second later in releasing the shutter, 

 all my trouble would have been useless, as im- 

 mediately the photograph was taken she flew off 



