NESTING-SERIES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 175 



the Coutiueut. Damp pastures, bare fallows, and inoorlaims are its 

 favourite haunts, where insects, worms, and slugs are plentiful. The 

 nest, a slight depression in the soil, sometimes scratched out by the 

 birds themselves, is lined with a few bits of dead rush or dry grass. 

 The eggs, usually four in number, are subject to variation in colour, 

 but are commonly brownish-buff, blotched and spotted with blackish- 

 brown. 



In March, April and May vast numbers of eggs are collected and 

 are greatly appreciated for the table. 



Yorkshire, May. 

 Presented by Lord Walsingkam. 



No. 1O4. RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. 



(Phalaropus hyperboreus). 



This elegant little Wader is a circumpolar species breeding in the 

 north of Europe, Asia, and America, and migrating southward in the 

 autumn. A few pairs still nest regularly iii the Shetlands, Orkneys, 

 and Outer Hebrides, and a small breeding-colony has recently been 

 discovered in Ireland. Its nest, a small deep hollow in a tuft of grass, 

 is usually situated in the vicinity of water. The four eggs are yellowish- 

 buff or pale olive, blotched and spotted with blackish-brown, reddish- 

 brown, and grey. 



The female is both larger and more brightly coloured than the male, 

 and the latter usually undertakes the duties of incubation. After the 

 autumn moult the cheeks, neck, and underparts become white. 



Hebrides, June. 

 Presented by Colonel L. H. Irby fy Captain S. G. Reid. 



No. 1O5. AVOCET. (Recurvirostra avocetta.) 



Formerly a regular summer visitor to England, breeding in con- 

 siderable numbers on the shores of the eastern counties from the 

 Humber to Sussex. Reclamation of fen-land and constant persecution 

 have gradually caused it to forsake our coast and it probably ceased 

 to nest in 1824. Though small parties still arrive in spring, and 

 occasionally in autumn, they are never allowed to breed. The eggs 

 are laid in May, in a slight depression among scanty herbage, sand, 

 or dry mud. 



Europe, May. 



Presented by J. Stares fy E. V. Earle, Es<jrs. 



