92 BIRDS OF LOCH AND MOUNTAIN 



on the return of spring, leave for their well-loved 

 nesting - grounds and are usually paired on their 

 arrival, which is usually a little later than that 

 of the Curlew or Golden Plover. After being on 

 the moorlands for a month or so, the birds bethink 

 themselves of nesting and scrape a slight hollow 

 on a dry spot in a bog, very often on a little knoll 

 with water all around. 



There is no nest in the true sense of the word, 

 but sometimes the hollow is lined with a few blades 

 of grass, and here the hen, in the early part of May, 

 lays her four eggs. They are pyriform in shape, 

 and, as is the case with all the " waders," are 

 placed with their small ends in the centre. In 

 colour and shape they might be mistaken for those 

 of the Golden Plover, were it not for their smaller 

 size and the presence of the parent birds. 



The nest is very difficult to discover, as the 

 hen usually is a very light sitter, especially if she 

 knows that her nest has been previously found, and 

 she often leaves the eggs before the ornithologist 

 has any idea of a nest being in the vicinity. Some- 

 times, however, I have known the hen to sit closely 

 even when the eggs were only freshly laid, and her 

 cry is almost human in its distress as she leaves 

 her treasures. 



There is one nesting spot that I know well, 

 where a highland road passes through a bog and 

 divides it into two parts, and on each side of 

 the road a pair of Redshanks every year rear their 

 brood, and usually at almost the same spot. On 

 one occasion, after finding the nest on the one side of 

 the road, I spent several hours searching for Snipes' 

 nests on the other, some 500 yards distant, expect- 

 ing that the Redshank would return to her eggs. 



