256 BIRDS OF THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. 



Museum. Mr Crawford, landlord of Lairg Inn, and at one time 

 a gamekeeper in the district of Ben Clybric and eastward, 

 writes me that they are seen on that mountain, but his informant 

 could never find the nests. The shepherd used to tell him of 

 getting the nests frequently twenty years ago, but he never pre- 

 served the eggs." 



The late Professor Macgillivray (B. B., vol. iv., 1852) states 

 that " it arrives about the middle of May in the upland tracts of 

 the counties of Forfar, Kincardine, Aberdeen, Banff, and Moray, 

 and resides there until the end of September, when it migrates 

 southwards." He also gives the names of several observers who 

 had met with the bird in the moors of these counties. The same 

 author relates that on 10th September, 1821, he observed in the 

 parish of Towie, Aberdeen shire, " a very large flock on a low hill, 

 and was assured by a gentleman residing at its foot that they bred 

 on the elevated moors every year;" while thirty years later 

 namely, on 8th August, 1851 he speaks of seeing a single 

 specimen at Loch Ranza. "I came upon a Dotterel," he writes, 

 "which flew from among the stones, pretending lameness, and 

 hovered around, manifesting great anxiety. I shouted for two 

 of my companions who had advanced, to come and see it, which 

 they did. Although it was evident the bird had a nest and young 

 ones, as it fluttered and limped when chased, we failed in discover- 

 ing its charge, and therefore left it." 



Regarding the occurrence of this bird in the southern counties, 

 Sir William Jardine has lately written to me as follows : " The 

 Common Dotterel (Ch. morinellus) used to appear regularly in 

 spring and the fall in some moors near this [Jardine Hall, Dum- 

 friesshire], and I have reason to suppose that one or two pairs 

 bred here. I did not discover the locality until too late, and they 

 have left now, but I have specimens shot during their spring visit. 

 The locality is about five miles from this." Sir William has 

 mentioned in his work on British Birds that the chief food of the 

 Dotterel "seems to consist of insects, particularly Coleoptera, many 

 species of which are extremely abundant on the coasts, and come 

 abroad in numbers during the heat of the day " an observation 

 which I have on several occasions corroborated during their spring 

 migration. No one seems to have recorded what they live upon 

 during the time they are located on our mountain ranges at a great 

 distance from the coast. 



