98 BIRD-LIFE IN WEST-HIGHLAND PARISH 



the Lord Breadalbane of the day in 1837 ; a 

 full account of this, and of its subsequent 

 spreading over a large part of Scotland, is to 

 be found in an interesting monograph 1 by 

 J. A. Harvie- Brown. Partridges are naturally 

 scarce in such surroundings, but a few find a 

 scanty subsistence in the little plots of culti- 

 vated land. 



As elsewhere throughout the country, the 

 woodcock is here a resident nesting and in- 

 creasing species. Half a century ago a wood- 

 cock's nest was a rarity to be chronicled as 

 a notable find ; to-day they nest throughout 

 Scotland in hundreds. When disturbed, the 

 parent birds remove their young ; and if the 

 intruder is fortunate enough to witness this, he 

 will see that the chick is carried neither in the 

 bill nor in the claws, but between the thighs of 

 the parent. In the twilight hours of the long 

 summer days the woodcocks may be seen and 

 heard each evening as they fly past in some- 

 what owl-like flight, uttering at intervals two 

 curious sounds, one a harsh croak, several times 

 repeated, the other more of a sibilant and piping 

 nature. This evening flight is termed their 

 'roding.' 



During these same warm summer nights 



1 The Capercaillie in Scotland-, David Douglas, 1879. 



