160 FIELD NOTES FOR THE YEAR. 



almost wholly insectivorous : at least these birds feed only in 

 the swamps and shallow pools, never taking to the fields for 

 grain or seeds; but living entirely on aquatic insects and 

 some few small plants. 



Although the widgeon breed in Sutherlandshire, and per- 

 haps in other parts of Scotland, I never saw one in this part 

 of the country during July or August. I believe that this 

 bird feeds neither on grain nor insects, but on aquatic grasses ; 

 and when these are not to be had, he grazes readily on the 

 grass- fields, and banks near the sea. 



The great art in getting at most wild fowl is to discover 

 their .feeding- places ; for to these they always resort at cer- 

 tain times either of the day or of the tide, some kinds being 

 more dependent than others on the ebb and flow of the sea ; 

 whilst the common mallard is almost wholly nocturnal in his 

 feeding, and does not regulate his movements by the state 

 of the tide. 



The sheldrakes, who were so numerous a few weeks ago 

 about the sandbanks and bar, have now nearly all disappeared; 

 and their places are supplied by innumerable curlews and 

 other waders, all of whom appear to find their food in the 

 moist sands, left by the ebb tide, which in this country 

 contain an endless supply of shellfish of different kinds, from 

 the minutest species, fit only to feed the dunlin and sand- 

 piper, to those which serve for food to the oyster-catcher, 

 whose powerful bill is well adapted to breaking up the 

 strongest cockles and mussels which are found in this 

 district. 



CHAPTEK XX. 



SEPTEMBER. 



The 1st of September Partridge Shooting Migratory Birds Grouse-shoot- 

 ing in September Widgeon Jack Snipes ; Breeding places of Land- 

 railWhite variety of the Eagle Sea Trout-fisher Stags Horns 

 Deer-stalking Cunning of Deer Disappointed in getting a Shot. 



THE 1st of September is by no means so marked a day with 

 sportsmen in the north as it is with those in the southern 

 parts of the kingdom. I well remember the eager haste with 

 which, when a boy, I used to sally forth at the earliest dawn 

 to wage war on the partridges. The birds, however, at that 

 hour, are restless and on the alert, the ground is wet, and tha 



