NESTING-SERIES OP BRITISH BIRDS. 43 



usually in the proximity of fresh water. The eggs are four in number, 

 and of a creamy-buff colour, finely spotted with grey and with two shades 

 of brown. 



Sutherlandshire, June. 



Presented by Colonel L. H. Irby §• Captain S. G. Reid. 



No. 115. REDSHANK. (Totanus calidris.) 



A common species during the summer months throughout the British 

 Islands, but on the approach of cold weather the majority of the birds 

 move southward, though some remain on the coasts throughout the 

 winter. It breeds in marshy districts and pastures, nesting in a hollow 

 in the ground among rushes, heather, or long grass. The eggs, which 

 are usually well concealed, are four in number, and are of a greenish- 

 buff colour, blotched and spotted with purplish-brown. 



The birds betray great anxiety when their nest is approached, and 

 endeavour to lead the intruder away by flying round and uttering their 

 shrill but plaintive note. 



Two nests are exhibited with the parent birds — one pair with eggs, 

 the other with young. 



Cumberland, June. 



Presented by the Rev. H. A. Macpherson. 



No. 116. GREENSHANK. (Glottis nebularius.) 



An annual migrant to the British Islands, many remaining to breed 

 on the moors in the northern parts of Scotland. It feeds on small fish, 

 molluscs, worms, crustaceans, beetles, etc. The nest, a mere hollow in 

 the ground, thinly lined with dry grass or heather, and frequently 

 sheltered by a stone, is generally situated near the edge of a loch or 

 other fresh water. The eggs, four in number, are of a greenish-buff 

 blotched and spotted with rich brown and purplish-grey. 



Sutherlandshire, 28th of May. 

 Presented by Colonel L. H. Irby §• Captain S. G. Reid. 



No. 117. OTTEREL. (Eudromias morinellus.) 



This Plover is a migrant to the British Islands in late spring and 

 autumn, but a few pairs remain to breed on some of the mountain-tops 

 of Scotland and of the Lake District. The nest is a mere hollow in the 

 moss covering some elevated plateau, where the vegetation consists 



