49 



the mere chance of adding to the list of " Birds 

 of the Hebrides." I could see enough to determine 

 that there were many varieties, including all the 

 smaller species of sandpiper, dotterel, and ringed 

 plover. Curlew and whimbrel dug their long curved 

 beaks into the soft sand for worms and molluscs, or 

 flitted overhead repeating their weird musical cry ; 

 black and bar- tailed godwit found their way into the 

 bag, and justified the testimony of our ancestors to 

 their excellent flavour at table. Redshanks and green- 

 shanks, golden plover and lapwing were ubiquitous ; 

 but the wader which was on the whole the most in 

 evidence at all times and in all places, was the oyster- 

 catcher, locally known as the sea-pie. They were to 

 be found everywhere on the rocks and on the links, 

 as well as feeding on the shore and their scarlet beaks 

 and legs, and neat black and white marking, would 

 have rendered them always conspicuous even had they 

 been less tame and confiding, but they hardly took 

 the trouble to get out of the way. 



One curious thing which I noticed about these 

 birds was that very often one or more in a flock 

 was lame, and sometimes had one leg completely 

 gone. I asked the keeper, who was a fairly accu- 

 rate observer, whether he could account for this 

 mutilation, and his suggestion was that it was done 

 by the dog-fish. This puzzled me, for although 

 these predatory and rapacious miniature sharks are 

 quite capable of attacking waterfowl as well as fish, 

 and sometimes follow the shoals of saithe, lythe, or 

 herring in incredible numbers, I could hardly credit 

 their coming so near inshore as to attack and mutilate 

 a wading-bird which confines itself entirely to shallow 



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