DUNLIN 293 



is far advanced, the female sits so closely that she will 

 almost suffer herself to be trod upon rather than leave her 

 nest. 



At the commencement of the pairing-season I have seen 

 two birds fly to a great height in the air, and then shoot 

 downwards with remarkable velocity. This habit is also 

 practised by the male when his mate is hatching. 



In the northern section of England, as far south as 

 Yorkshire, the Dunlin breeds in scattered numbers over 

 the moors, while on the east side its eggs have been taken 

 from Lincolnshire. It is a rare breeding-species in the 

 south, but the nest has been found in Cornwall and in 

 Devon, while Mr. Saunders has seen the young (at an 

 age when they were hardly able to fly) on Exmoor, in 

 Somerset. 



In Wales, this species has been found breeding in 

 Cardiganshire and Merioneth. 



In Scotland it nests not only on the mainland, but also 

 on many of the Western and Northern Island-Groups. 



In Ireland, the eggs have been recorded from the follow- 

 ing counties : Wicklow, Mayo, Donegal, Londonderry, 

 Fermanagh, Koscommon, and Westmeath. 



Geographical distribution. Abroad, the Dunlin breeds 

 in Arctic and Temperate Europe, its eggs having been 

 obtained as far south as Denmark, Holland, Germany, 

 Spain, and North Italy (Saunders). Eastward, it ranges 

 over Siberia; westward, over a large tract of the North 

 American Continent, including Greenland. On migration, 

 in autumn and winter, it is distributed chiefly along the 

 flat sea-coasts (but also, in less numbers, on the inland 

 waters) of the European Continent, reaching to Tropical 

 Africa and Asia, and westward to Central America. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Feathers of the top of 

 head, hind-neck, back, scapulars, and long inner secondaries, 

 blackish, with warm rufous edgings and spots; outer 

 secondaries, brownish, showing white on the inner webs ; 

 wing-coverts, greyish-brown ; primaries, dull mouse-brown ; 

 tail, greyish-brown, except the longer central feathers 

 which are blackish with buff edgings ; cheeks, throat, and 

 sides of neck, greyish-white, with brownish-black streaks ; 

 chin, whitish ; breast, black, showing in some specimens an 



