94 BIRDS OF LOCH AND MOUNTAIN, 



egg-shells in the nest, while the Redshank carries 

 each shell some distance away when the young 

 bird has emerged. It is difficult to understand 

 the reason for this, seeing that the young leave 

 the nest almost immediately after they are hatched, 

 so that the proximity of broken shells could hardly 

 betray the young bird's presence. 



When the birds have eggs they are comparatively 

 silent after they have left the nest. When the young 

 have emerged from the shell, however, the parent 

 birds, both male and female, betray the greatest 

 anxiety on behalf of their chicks, circling round 

 the intruder's head and untiringly uttering their 

 alarm note. 



Towards the end of May the young birds put 

 in an appearance, but are extremely difficult to 

 discover, as at the alarm note of the old birds 

 the chicks immediately crouch on the ground 

 and remain perfectly motionless until the danger 

 has passed. 



During the spring months the Redshank uses 

 several different notes. The male bird is very 

 fond of soaring up against the wind, something after 

 the manner of a Skylark, and, after remaining for 

 a few seconds poised, descends rapidly to earth, 

 all the time uttering his song, which, during his up- 

 ward flight, sounds something like "Clu, clu, cm," 

 and during the downward "Clueu, clueu, clueu." 

 The alarm note is sharp and short, and the 

 birds also use a cry which seems to be principally 

 a call note, sounding like "Tuc a tuc tu," and by 

 imitating this it is possible to make the birds imme- 

 diately respond to the human whistle. 



There is one colony where I should think hun- 

 dreds of birds nest together, and in the month of 



