266 FIELD-NOTES FOR THE YEAR, CH, XIX. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



AUGUST. 



Golden Plover — Ring Dottrel — Migratory Birds — Butter- 

 flies — Crabs ; their manner of casting their shells — The 

 Sea Angler — The Deal Fish — Habits of Woodcocks — A 

 pet Roe — Grouse Shootings and Grouse — Wild Fowl. 



During the first part of this month the mountain- 

 bred birds, such as golden plover, dottrel, curlew, 

 &c., are daily seen to collect more and more in 

 flocks on the seashore or other places which suit 

 their habits. In the lower parts of the country the 

 dottrel is now a very rare bird, and it is seldom that 

 many of them are killed, although they are so tame 

 and easy of approach as to have obtained for them- 

 selves the local name of the " foolish dottrel." It 

 is one of the peculiarities of this bird that one pair 

 only breeds on the same hill or mountain. Whilst 

 you may see thousands of golden plovers on a hill- 

 side during the breeding season, you will never find 

 above one pair of dottrel on each ridge. The ring- 

 dottrel and other shore birds become at this season 

 more numerous day by day. Many insectivorous 

 birds, also, such as the whitethroat, redstart, &c., 

 seem to draw gradually towards the eastern coasts 



