580 SCOLOrACID^E. 



cliff, in the evening on Mucklestane Moor : the former says, 

 " what need I care for the Mucklestane Moor ony mair 

 than ye do yoursel, Earns-cliff ? to be sure they say there "s 

 a sort o 1 worricows and lang nebbit things about the land, 

 but what need I care for them?" and this enables us to 

 understand the fag end of a Highlander's prayer to be saved 

 harmless, " from witches, warlocks,* and aw lang-nebbed 

 things." 



The Curlew inhabits Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, 

 during summer. In the latter country Mr. Hewitson, and 

 the party with him, were surprised to see this long-legged 

 bird alight on the top of a pine, and frequently afterwards 

 pass from tree to tree uttering its loud note. This bird 

 also in summer visits the Faroe Islands and Iceland. In 

 an account of the Faroe Islands lately published it is stated 

 that the Curlew even winters occasionally in the most 

 southern of these islands, where the bays are never covered 

 with ice, except in the coldest years ; nor does the snow cover 

 the ground above a week at a time, and is never deep. 



The nest of the Curlew is slight : a few leaves or other 

 dry materials, carelessly brought together among long grass 

 or heath, or in a tuft of rushes, is all that appears. The 

 eggs are four in number, pear-shaped and generally placed 

 with the smaller ends together : the egg measures two 

 inches seven lines in length, by one inch eleven lines in 

 breadth, and is of an olive-green, blotched and spotted with 

 darker green and dark brown. The young run almost as 

 soon as hatched, but are unable to fly for a considerable 

 time. In confinement these birds become tame enough to 

 follow their feeder for the usual meal, and Montagu ob- 

 served that they could swim with ease, but did not take 

 the water without being driven. 



* A warlock, or wizzard, a man who is supposed to be in compact with the 

 devil. Jamieson's Dictionary. 



