252 CHARADRIIDjE. 



number has never been exceeded. Mr. Nicholson informs 

 the Editor that whenever he has been told of a clutch of 

 four Dotterel's eggs, they have invariably proved to be those 

 of the Golden Plover. The nest is a mere shallow hollow, 

 pressed down, not scraped, and the eggs are placed points 

 inwards. They are of a yellowish-olive colour, blotched and 

 spotted with brownish-black, and measure about 1/6 by 

 1-1 in. 



In the time of Montagu, it appears possible that the Dot- 

 terel may have bred on the Mendip Hills in Somersetshire ; 

 but there is no evidence that it does so at the present day, 

 although young birds are frequently shot there in September. 

 In Wales it is of very rare occurrence at any season, and it 

 is uncommon in Shropshire, and, in fact, anywhere to the 

 west of the Pennine range of hills. In the Eastern 

 Counties, Dotterels occur on both spring and autumn 

 migrations ; but in Lincolnshire, Mr. J. Cordeaux informs 

 the Editor that they are rare there on the return south- 

 wards. In spring they still pass with tolerable regularity, 

 although in far smaller numbers than formerly ; and they 

 are remarkable for their steady predilection for certain 

 restricted areas : even visiting the same fields year after 

 year. On their first arrival in the last week of April they 

 frequent the wolds for a few days, after which they descend 

 to the marshes on the Lincoln and Yorkshire coasts, and 

 remain there till about the end of the third week in May, 

 when they leave for their breeding-grounds. In Lancashire, 

 Westmoreland, and Cumberland, the Editor is informed 

 that they make their earliest appearance on the sea-coast 

 marshes, and thence proceed to the higher grounds. It is 

 believed that a few pairs remain to breed on the Cheviot 

 hills, along which the "trips" pass on their way north- 

 wards in the spring ; and it appears probable that on some 

 of the unfrequented Scotch mountains it is more numerous 

 than is generally supposed. Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown and 

 Major H. W. Feilden have furnished some interesting 

 details respecting the nesting of this species on the borders 

 of Perth and Inverness (Pr. N. H. Soc. Glasgow, ii. pp. 





