175 British Birds, with their Nests and Eggs. 



Adults in winter are paler below, and tlie lieavy spots on the cliest and neck 

 have shrunk to mere linear stripes. 



Young in autumn have always a dusky appearance, and some traces of buff 

 on the nnderparts. In a very young male (N. Iceland, i, 8, '94) with traces of 

 down remaining on the head and neck, the back is distinctly spotted with two 

 shades of cream-buff, and ruddy-bufif; and traces of this are to be seen in young 

 birds on our coasts in early autumn. 



Young in down (Reykjadalr, July i6tli, '85) are buffy-white above and below, 

 with two strong dark lines along the crown, and irregular black markings and 

 mottlings on the back. Bill short. 



The nest of this species, of which I have seen a great number, is a hollow 

 on a hummock or mound, usually a perfectly bare one ; the nest can hardly be 

 said to be lined, but contains a few scraps of grass. In this are laid four eggs, 

 miniatures of those of the Curlew, but, as a rule, more boldly marked with brown ; 

 the beau-tiful pale olive ground colour fades a good deal, I am sorry to say, in 

 the course of a year or two. The eggs vary in length from 2 J to 2i inches by 

 I J. On one occasion I found a nest with only three eggs, incubated (a very 

 exceptional number) on a tussock in a marsh, and close beside the nest lay a 

 small heap of rounded pebbles, as big as sweet peas, which had evidently been 

 recently brought by the parents from a river side nearly a mile off, necessitating 

 a good many journeys. Unless these were for the young birds, when born, to 

 swallow with their food as an aid to digestion, I am at a loss to explain their 

 presence. Nearly all the eggs of this species seem to hatch out, barring 

 accidents ; I mean, one seldom finds addled eggs in the nests, as is not 

 uncommonly the case with the Curlew. 



Both sexes incubate ; I have the skin of a male, dissected by myself, which 

 bears unmistakeable bare hatching spots. I never, however, have shot a bird 

 from the nest, as they steal off the eggs when they see danger threatening, which, 

 from the position of the nest, they can do a long way off. They are very 

 courageous at the nest, though, except in the case of man, and I have seen two 

 Whimbrels thrash a prowling Raven soundly ; Richardson's Skuas, too, they have 

 no difficulty in driving off. All the same, they lose a great many eggs from the 

 attacks of these two robber birds, because, when their attention is directed to one 

 individual, another rascal sneaks off with the spoils. 



The note of the Whimbrel, which is not unlike the breeding note of the 

 Curlew, consists of a high, clear, short whistle, repeated seven or eight times in 

 a descending scale of semitones, or rather less. From this note it has got the 

 name of " Titterel," or "Seven Whistler," on our coasts. It is also called the 



