H2 BIRDS OF LOCH AND MOUNTAIN 



ornithologist. Rising in clouds in the air, they fly 

 round the intruder, some of the bolder spirits swoop- 

 ing fearlessly at his head, all the while uttering 

 their harsh, wild cry. It is only sometimes that 

 the nest is a nest in the true sense of the word 

 more often than not it is merely a slight hollow 

 scraped among the pebbles or sand. Once I found 

 the eggs lying on the top of a sand dune without 

 even a hollow to receive them and looking as if 

 the least movement would send them rolling to 

 the bottom. Sometimes, however, quite a re- 

 spectable nest is made, composed chiefly of stems 

 of bent stalks. 



The eggs number two or three. They are of all 

 shades and shapes, and occasionally there will be 

 found in the same nest one egg of a nearly black 

 ground colour with very dark blotches, another of 

 a bluish ground colour with dark brown spots, 

 and a third with buff for a ground colour and spotted 

 and blotched all over with reddish brown. As a 

 rule, and especially when laid amongst pebbles, 

 the eggs harmonise perfectly with their surroundings, 

 and it is an extremely difficult matter to discover 

 them. Sometimes, however, the birds lay eggs 

 which are almost black on the pure sand, rendering 

 them conspicuous at a great distance. 



On one occasion I was visiting a Tern colony 

 late in June when the eggs were hatching. 

 Suddenly I heard a most frightful commotion- 

 all the Terns screaming in fury. Looking up, I saw 

 a poor Rook which had strayed on the sacred ground 

 and was being pursued by the enraged Terns. The 

 Rook seemed to be completely stupefied by the fierce- 

 ness of the attack, and instead of flying off, almost 

 fell to the ground and then hid amongst the bent. 



