104 SCOLOPACIDJl. 



us, although within a few yards of them. The female has 

 not that brilliant bay colour upon the sides of the neck 

 and breast, so conspicuous in the male. After some little 

 difficulty, we were fortunate in finding their nests, which 

 were placed in small tufts of grass growing close to the 

 edge of the loch; they were formed of dried grass, and 

 were about the size of that of a Titlark, but much deeper. 

 The eggs are considerably smaller than those of the Dunlin, 

 and beautifully spotted all over with brown. They had 

 but just commenced laying, June 13, as we found only from 

 one to two eggs in each nest ; but we were informed by a 

 boy whom we engaged in our service, that they always 

 lay four, and are called by the name of Half-web. Mr. 

 Dunn, who visited Orkney and Shetland in 1831, 1833, 

 and 1835, says, " I never saw this bird in Shetland, but 

 I got several in Orkney ; it sometimes builds its nest on 

 small green islands in the middle of the lakes. The 

 places where I procured their eggs, and found the birds 

 most numerous, were in a small sheet of water three or 

 four miles from the lighthouse of Sanda, a lake near 

 Nunse Castle in Westra, and at Sandwick, near Strom- 

 ness." 



This species has been obtained in Sussex, Surrey, 

 Norfolk, Yorkshire, and Northumberland. Passing over 

 the Scottish localities already named, M. Nilsson mentions 

 that the Red-necked Phalarope visits Sweden and Norway, 

 where a few remain to breed on the margins of fresh- 

 water lakes, but the greater part going still further north, 

 are known to visit Lapland, the Faroe Islands, and Ice- 

 land. Mr. "W. Proctor, Subcurator of the Durham Uni- 

 versity Museum, visited Iceland in the summer of 1837, 

 and in some notes on the habits of birds seen there, which 

 were published in the Naturalist, mentions, that " the 

 Red-necked Phalarope, or Lobefoot, breeds on little 



