DUNLIN. 57 



beck, ten miles from the sea, about a hundred yards from 

 my own gate, in the severe winter of 1853-4, on the 4th. 

 of January. In December, 1844, a pair were shot on the 

 bank of the Trent, near Melbourne, Derbyshire. In Surrey 

 it is said to have occurred near Godalming. 



This species advances to the north in the spring, and 

 retreats southwards in the autumn, travelling, it is related, 

 'early in the morning or late at night, when they fly close 

 to the ground along the sea-shore, or high in the air across 

 the water, flying in a straight line at a quick pace. It is 

 worthy of observation that the old and young birds are 

 hardly ever known to migrate in mixed groups, but always 

 keep each to themselves.' 



About the middle of April, or nearer to its end, or in the 

 beginning of May, they betake themselves to the moors to 

 nest, attaching themselves to the same grounds as the Plovers 

 and the Snipes, and towards the end of August again return 

 to the sea-side, though found at times also by the margins 

 of lakes and rivers. They approach dwelling-houses without 

 fear, if such happen to adjoin the places that are congenial 

 to their habits. Tfoey frequent the coasts, and especially 

 those parts which are sandy and humid, or where mud 

 prevails. 



'In Scotland and in its islands,' says Selby, 'this bird may 

 be considered as indigenous, and great numbers are known to 

 breed not only upon the sea-coast, but in the marshes of 

 the interior. A few also remain in Northumberland, which 

 may be called the southern limit of the permanent residence 

 of the species. It is not to be supposed, however, that the 

 multitudes that people our northern shores are the offspring 

 of such only as breed in this latitude; they are principally 

 composed of migrants from countries farther northward, to 

 which the great body retires during summer.' I may, how- 

 ever, here observe that many pass the summer, at all events, 

 so far south as Yorkshire; their nests have been found on 

 Stockton Common, near York, and they have been known to 

 build on Thorne Moor, near Doncaster, and on the high 

 moors near Halifax; one was shot at Brodsworth, near 

 Doncaster, in the spring of 1844. In Cambridgeshire, the 

 Rev. Leonard Jenyns records that they were seen now and 

 then in summer time, in the fens, and that in the beginning 

 of July, 1824, they were particularly abundant in that 

 district. 



