276 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS. [CHAP, xxxv 



distance from home always, however, if allowed so to do, bring- 

 ing home their broods as soon as they are hatched. At other 

 seasons they never seem inclined to wander, though they are 

 always to be seen at the very earliest dawn of the morning, before 

 it is quite light, spread out over the grass-field adjoining the 

 house, hunting it in a regular line of advance for worms and 

 snails. As the evening comes on, too, it is amusing to see them 

 bent on the same pursuit, and displaying the greatest activity 

 and skill in catching the large evening moths, as these insects 

 rise from the grass or fly low over it. 



