330 BIRDS OF THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. 



about like so many miniature ducks, and write down a pleasant 

 chapter on their habits in his note book. They seem to have no 

 fear, but come right forward as if curious to know what the intruder 

 is about, uttering all the time a feeble note with every motion of 

 their head, not unlike the ticking of a clock. The little half-clad 

 boys of Benbecula, who of late years have heard of the esteem in 

 which their familiar visitor is held, often attempt to catch the 

 Phalaropes by wading through their haunts; and the sight of half- 

 a-dozen such young rascals in full pursuit, and getting soused 

 occasionally, through a false step in the eagerness of their clutch, 

 is very diverting. 



From a comparison of seven specimens now before me, I find 

 that the female is larger than the male, and is brighter in colour. 

 Both sexes share in the duties of incubation, if one may judge 

 from the bare spot being present in the male as well as the female. 

 The nests are mere depressions in the tufts of grass, with a few 

 withered straws moulded into shape by the sitting birds, and are 

 placed on tolerably firm ground near the water's edge. The 

 eggs, four in number, appear to be subject to but little variety; 

 they resemble some of the darker specimens of the dunlin's egg, 

 but are much smaller, and, speaking from my own experience, are 

 never met with of the light green shade which is so conspicuous 

 among those of the dunlin. 



I have a specimen of this Phalarope in my collection in full 

 summer plumage, from the island of Skye, but I have failed to 

 discover any breeding place there. It has also been found there 

 in winter, by Captain Cameron, but in other localities on the 

 mainland it is a mere straggler. On the east coast it occurs at 

 irregular intervals from Berwick to Orkney. I have myself met 

 with it in East Lothian and Fifeshire. Two specimens were shot 

 in the Old Links, Aberdeen, by Mr Alex. Mitchell one on the 

 1 5th, the other on the 18th September, 1870. One of these, kindly 

 forwarded to me by Mr Mitchell, is apparently a young bird of 

 the year, and has a white forehead, the upper part of the head 

 being very dark in colour. 



