CURLEW AND WHIMBREL 536 



the majority of the nests are on the side or in the bottom of a slight 

 hollow where there is more coarse grass than heather, and where the 

 ground is distinctly boggy. Not infrequently the nest is made on 

 perfectly bare ground, or where the grass is short, and occasionally 

 a pair of birds may be found nesting in an enclosed field of coarse 

 grass, and I have known of nests on ploughed land. But the curlew 

 is more at home on the open hills. 



Even when the nest is among heather or long grass there is little 

 or no attempt at concealment. It is very large, somewhat untidy, and 

 usually made of dry grass or sprigs of heather. Probably owing to the 

 large size of the nest and eggs, it is more conspicuous than that of 

 most Waders. The nest is, however, by no means easy to find, as the 

 curlew is exceedingly wary, and the open nature of the country 

 enables the sitting bird or its mate, who generally keeps watch to 

 detect an intruder at a great distance. By carefully approaching 

 a likely hollow under cover of a ridge, and suddenly revealing oneself, 

 it is possible to take a curlew by surprise, and cause her to fly straight 

 up from her eggs. Although it may be a considerable distance off, 

 it is then not difficult to mark the place and find the nest. I have 

 found one in this way when the bird rose a quarter of a mile away. 

 It is only possible to do this when one is well acquainted with the 

 country, and it is quite useless considering the vast amount of the 

 ground there is to cover to look for a nest except where a bird has 

 been seen to rise. Should the curlew suspect danger, she will 

 stealthily leave her nest while the intruder is half a mile away. 



Mr. Seton Gordon states that the curlew always flies right off the 

 nest, 1 but Mr. Owen tells me (in. litt.) that, unless surprised, the bird 

 runs stealthily for some distance before taking flight. In the evening 

 when dusk approaches, the curlew is more likely to sit tight, and, 

 providing the position of a nest is known, it is then often possible to 

 walk right up to it before the bird leaves. Mr. Owen adds that he 

 has known but one bird that sat tight in the daytime. She almost 



1 Birds by Loch and Mountain, p. 79. 



