n6 BIRDS OF LOCH AND MOUNTAIN 



The Gaelic name of the loch is Lochan-an-Eoin, 

 which means the " Loch of the Birds." As the 

 old language has practically died out in the neigh- 

 bourhood, the name shows that the Gulls have 

 made the loch their home for generations. 



The winter is spent on the sea coast, and the 

 Gulls migrate inland early in March if the spring 

 is favourable ; until May, however, they frequent 

 the valleys. It is a most interesting sight to see 

 them coming down to rest after their long flight 

 from the coast line. Arriving at a great height, 

 they reconnoitre carefully ere descending in a body 

 at some favourite locality which affords a wide 

 outlook. 



Their nesting season is late, and few of the Gulls 

 commence to brood till the last days of May in 

 fact, if anything, they are later nesters than the 

 Ptarmigan. The usual nesting site is on a little 

 knoll at the edge of a loch, and if there are any 

 prominent boulders the Gulls generally place their 

 nests on these. A very favourite site is on a large 

 stone, some little distance out in the water, where 

 they are comparatively secure from the attacks of 

 foxes, stoats, and other enemies, and hatch their 

 brood in safety. 



The eggs number two ; sometimes three are 

 found, and occasionally only one. They are large 

 for the size of the bird and are beautifully coloured, 

 being of an olive green colour and spotted and 

 blotched with dark brown ; but the ground colour 

 and markings vary considerably. A very scanty 

 nest is constructed, usually a few pieces of dry 

 grass, while sometimes a hollow merely is scraped 

 by the hen, and the eggs deposited without any 

 attempt at nest-making. 



