234 THE BIRDS OF OUR RAMBLES. 



May, and its nest must generally be sought for 

 on the shingly beaches. A favourite situation 

 is just above the line of drift in some quiet 

 bay, amongst the pebbles and coarse sand ; the 

 rougher the shingle, the better the bird seems 

 to like the place. No nest, in the strict sense 

 of the term, is made beyond a hollow in the 

 sand and pebbles, which is often lined with bits 

 of broken shells, and very rarely a scrap or 

 two of seaweed may be arranged round the 

 rim. What is rather remarkable is the fact of 

 several of these " nests " often being made close 



to the one containing the eggs. Three eggs 



11 1 j r 



are generally laid, sometimes lour, sometimes 



only two. They are buff in ground colour, 

 spotted and streaked with dark blackish brown 

 and pale gray. No birds are more wary during 

 the nesting period ; and long before the beach 

 which contains their nest is reached, both male 

 and female are flying about, uttering their shrill 

 pipe of alarm. The eggs are difficult enough 

 to find, as they so closely resemble the ground 

 in colour. 



widely The remarkably handsome SHELDRAKE (Ta- 



Rarer in 6 " doma cornuta) is another bird to be met with 

 summer. amongst the sand dunes of the coast. The Shel- 

 drake is one of the shyest and wariest birds upon 

 the coast, taking wing long before the observer 

 is able to approach it closely, or see much of its 

 ways without the help of a glass. The flight of 

 this bird is very different from that of most 

 Ducks. Those birds progress with rapid move- 

 ments of the wings (except when they glide on 

 stiff and opened pinions from the air down to 

 the water) ; but the Sheldrake flies along with 



