BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 55 



fly-dressing days if I would only procure the skin 

 of this bird, whose feathers are popularly supposed 

 to exercise a kind of charm over trout in some 

 northern districts. 



Materials. None. The eggs are simply deposited 

 in a slight declivity trodden in the place selected. 



Eggs. Three, yellowish-olive to dark cream in 

 ground colour, thickly blotched and spotted with 

 dark brown or brownish-black. Size about 1*65 by 

 1-15 in. 



Time. May, June, and July. 



Remarks. Migratory, arriving in April and May 

 and leaving in August and September. Notes, 

 "durrdroo." Local and other names, Foolish 

 Dotterel, Dotterel Plover. Gregarious ; very tame 

 and stupid ; sits closely, and resorts to the usual 

 deceit of many other ground builders in order to 

 get rid of the intruder. 



DOTTEREL, RINGED. See PLOVEE, KINGED. 



DOVE, RING. 



Description of Parent Birds. Length about 

 seventeen inches. Bill moderately long, curved 

 downwards slightly at the tip and pale red, yellowish 

 towards the end and whitish on the soft parts 

 surrounding the nostrils. Irides straw colour. 

 Head and upper part of neck bluish-ash colour. 

 The sides of the lower part of the neck are beauti- 

 fully glossed with green and purple, according to 

 the light upon them. On either side of the neck 

 is a patch of glossy white, which almost meets at 

 the back. Back and wing- coverts bluish-grey, with 

 exception of a few feathers of the latter, which are 



