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females separate, gathering at that season in flocks, each 

 flock composed solely of the one sex. The Chaffinch is a seed- 

 eater, but during the breeding season becomes largely insectivorous, 

 feeding its young on caterpillars, flies, and grubs. The nest of 

 the Chaffinch is exquisitely constructed of moss and lichen, and 

 cosily lined with hair and feathers, and it is not at all uncommon 

 to find worked into the outside small bits of newspaper, oft-times 

 the relic of a paper chase. The nest, often built in the lichen- 

 covered fork of an apple tree, assimilates so closely to its sur- 

 roundings, as often to be difficult of discovery. The eggs are usually 

 four in number, greenish in ground-colour, and streaked and marled 

 with brown and black. 



Dove, Stock- This dove is more numerous than is usually 

 supposed. It is very widely distributed in England, and also is not 

 infrequent throughout Scotland and Ireland, and appears to be in- 

 creasing in numbers. It is a bird more of the open ground than of 

 the woodland, nesting in cliffs and rabbit burrows, though occasion- 

 ally in holes in trees. It is a seed feeder. In colour the Stock-Dove 

 is grey, with, on the head, neck and breast, the metallic lustre common 

 to its race. It may be distinguished from the rock-dove by the absence 

 of the white rump possessed by the latter, and from the wood-pigeon 

 by its smaller size, and the lack of the white neck ring and shoulder 

 mottle. The length of the Stock-Dove is 14 inches. In Scotland, 

 where the rock-dove is usually to be found haunting the rocky coast 

 line, the Stock- Dove on the other hand is to be observed inland 

 on the hill pastures, and in the open hill glens. The precipitous side 

 of the latter is a favourite haunt, and here it may be often found 

 nesting in solitary pairs. The eggs are two in number, and pure 

 white. 



Dunlin The Dunlin as a breeding species appears to be increas- 

 ing in numbers in Scotland, where, as in the northern counties ot 

 England, it is a resident and breeding species. The male is close on 

 seven inches in length, with a longish bill, and is of a brownish 

 colour with black centres to the feathers. The throat, foreneck, and 

 chest are white with small streaks of black, and in the summer there 

 is a strongly marked horse shoe of black upon the breast. The 

 Dunlin during the winter is common on all our coast lines, where 

 it is to be noticed frequently in large flocks which form an interest- 

 ing spectacle, as in flight they whirl and turn. In sunlight, at one 

 angle, when the underparts of the birds are visible, the flock would 

 seem to disappear, again suddenly coming into sight, as the other 

 angle of their flight reveals their brownish backs. In summer the 

 Dunlin betake themselves in pairs to the high moorlands and 

 hillsides to breed, where in a slight depression their nest is built of 

 dried grass and moss, usually in a tuft of grass or heather, some- 

 times in rushes, and it is usually well concealed. The Dunlin is a 

 great wanderer, many go as far north as Iceland and Siberia to nest, 

 and in the winter, pass as far south as California and Zanzibar. 

 Those that do frequent our shores during the winter months, are 

 probably those which have bred in far northern latitudes. Their 

 food is largely insects, which they appear to obtain from the margins 

 of lakes and in winter on the muddy shores of our estuaries and 

 coast lines. The eggs are four in number, and are pear shaped, as 

 are those ot most of the birds of the wader family to which the 

 specie* belongs. The ground colour is of greenish grey, richly 

 spotted and blotched with reddish brown and black. 



