98 BRITISH SEA BIRDS. 



certainly gregarious, but its gatherings are never 

 so large on our coasts as those of the Curlew. 

 This, however, is entirely due to local causes, for 

 Gatke reports that on the bright warm days of 

 April and May they pass over Heligoland in 

 successive flocks, at a vast height, and flying at 

 a tremendous speed. On migration the note of 

 the Whimbrel may be described as a shrill 

 hee-hee-hee. Its food, during its sojourn in small 

 numbers on the British coasts, consists principally 

 of crustaceans, sand-worms, and molluscs. 



The Whimbrel is a later breeder than the Curlew. 

 During the nesting season it is one of the most 

 local of our birds, and is only known to nest on 

 North Ronay one of the Hebrides the Orkneys, 

 and the Shetlands. Its favourite breeding-grounds 

 are the wild moors, at no great distance from the 

 sea. Although not gregarious during summer, 

 many pairs often nest on the same portion of 

 the moors. The nest is made upon the ground, 

 sometimes amongst heather, or beneath the shelter 

 of a tuft of grass, and consists of a few bits of 

 withered herbage, arranged carelessly in some slight 

 hollow. The four eggs are very like those of the 

 Curlew, but are much smaller. The bird's actions 

 at the nest are very similar to those of the preceding 

 species. Outside the British limits, the breeding 

 range of the typical Whimbrel reaches from Iceland 

 and the Faroes, across Arctic Europe, whilst its 

 winter home is in Africa. 



