In Scotland the breeding season of these birds commences about the 

 middle of May, eggs being laid during the latter half of the month. The 

 nest is most difficult to find, as the birds are extremely wary, and try every 

 device to keep the intruder away from their treasure. They are not at all 

 social birds during the breeding season, and the nests are usually long 

 distances apart. As a rule the nest is on the top of some slight mound, on 

 a bare dry spot, a very marked contrast to that of the Redshank, which is 

 usually carefully concealed in the centre of some tuft of grass, and as often 

 as not in a damp hollow. 



The nest of the Greenshank is a very slight piece of work, a mere de- 

 pression in the ground, lined with a few bits of dry grass or withered leaves 

 of the cranberry, or tiny bits of dead heather being all that is required. A 

 very favourite situation is on the top of a bare mound on which the heather 

 has been burnt, and little patches of peat are left bare. The nest is generally 

 placed on one of these little bare patches, under the shelter of a few twigs 

 of burnt heather. The Greenshank is very partial to small trees about its 

 breeding-place, and has a habit of sitting on the topmost twig, from which 

 point of vantage it commands all approach to its nest. If the intruder con- 

 ceals himself near, to ascertain the whereabouts of the nest, the bird has an 

 aggravating habit of sitting there yelling at the pitch of its voice for hours 

 without stopping, until the poor ornithologist's patience is quite worn out, 

 and he leaves in disgust. I beat them fairly, however, at Loch Morlich, in 

 Strathspey, by accidentally discovering that while one bird was shrieking 

 itself hoarse on the tree-top, the other very quietly slipped on to the nest, 

 keeping almost entirely out of sight by dodging round the little inequalities 

 of the ground. It was while it was crossing a little bare place that I got 

 a glimpse of it, and guessed what the little ruse was. 



The eggs are usually four in number, though sometimes only three are 

 laid ; they have the usual characteristics of the Charadriidae, being somewhat 

 pyriform, and placed in the nest with the points inwards. The ground colour 

 varies from cream colour to rich buff, sometimes with a slightly pink tinge. 

 The surface spots are rich dark brown or reddish brown, and the underlying 

 markings pinkish brown or violet grey. On some specimens both the surface 

 spots and the underlying markings are rich, irregular blotches, generally on 

 the larger end of the egg, sometimes forming a sort of zone ; other specimens 

 are covered evenly all over with small spots, none of which exceed a large 

 pea in size, while on some eggs the markings have more the character of 

 streaks. They vary in length from 2'o to i'8o inches, and in breadth from 



116 



