OlrSTKK-CATCHliKb AT HOME 



CHAPTER XVII 



Birds that come in Spring— The Pewit: Pugnacity; Nests of; Canning — Ring- 

 Dotterel — Redshank — Oyster-Catcher : Food ; Swimming of; Nest— Curlew- 

 Redstart — Swallows, etc. 



The pewit is the first bird that visits us for the purpose of 

 nidification. About the middle of February a solitary pewit 

 appears, or perhaps a pair, and I hear them in the evening 

 flying from the shore in order to search for worms in the field. 

 Towards the end of the month, great flocks arrive and collect 

 on the sands, always, however, feeding inland ; it is altogether 

 a nocturnal bird as far as regards feeding : at any hour of the 

 night, and however dark it is, if I happen to pass through the 

 grass-fields, I hear the pewits rising near me. Excepting to 



