ORNITHOLOGICAL EAMBLES. 85 



they are composed being fastened to the rushes or 

 osiers near them ; but at the same time these fasten- 

 ings are of such a nature as to allow of the nests rising 

 with the water, so that no ordinary flood would expose 

 them to the danger of submersion. 



St. John observes that " he found one on a loch, 

 which the bird had fastened on a floating tree that 

 had grounded on a shallow, but which, having again 

 got adrift, owing to a rise in the loch, had been driven 

 by the wind until it stuck fast close to the shore where 

 the old bird was still at work. One bird seems to 

 remain on the nest while its mate brings it rushes, 

 which the stationary bird disposes of by adding them 

 to the already large structure, till it seems sufficiently 

 high above the water, and solid enough to resist wind 

 and weather. The whole nest is firm enough to 

 bear a much greater weight than is ever imposed on 

 it." 



The red-necked phalarope has been known to breed 

 on this water for several successive seasons, but I could 

 not discover any substantial sign of its having fre- 

 quented this locality in the course of the present 

 year. 



Before leaving this spot I wandered to the edge of 

 the coast, and as I threaded its rugged boundary I 

 gazed with exultation on the broad bright waters of the 

 Atlantic Ocean dancing and heaving under a brilliant 

 sun : the white breakers cresting the inconstant 



