515 



9 



several days on Robinson, in company with a very able assistant, searching for the eggs of the 

 Dottrel, I had of course ample opportunities of observing their manners ; and I natter myself that 

 the following particulars will be interesting to some of my ornithological readers : — On the 3rd 

 July we found three or four pairs near the most elevated part of this mountain ; and on all our 

 visits thither, whether early in the morning or late in the afternoon, the greater part were 

 always seen near the same place, sitting on the ground. When first discovered they permitted 

 us to approach within a short distance, without showing any symptoms of alarm ; and frequently 

 afterwards, when watching their movements from a few paces off, some would move slowly about 

 and pick up an insect, others would remain motionless, now and then stretching out their wings > 

 and a few would occasionally toy with each other, at the same time uttering a few low notes> 

 which had some resemblance to those of the common Linnet (IAnaria cannabina) ; in short, they 

 appeared to be so very indifferent with regard to our presence, that at last my assistant could 

 not avoid exclaiming, ' What stupid birds these are !' The female that had young, nevertheless, 

 evinced considerable anxiety for their safety whenever we came near the place where they were 

 concealed, and, as long as we remained in the vicinity, constantly flew to and fro above us, 

 uttering her note of alarm. 



"As soon as the young birds were fully feathered, two were killed for the purpose of 

 examining their plumage in this state ; and we found that after they had been fired at once or 

 twice they become more wary ; and eventually we had some little difficulty in approaching 

 sufficiently near to effect our purpose. The moult appears to commence somewhat early in old 

 birds ; a male that was killed on the 25th of July was completely covered with pen-feathers, 

 and the belly, from incubation, almost entirely bare. The stomachs I dissected were all filled 

 with the elytra and remains of small coleopterous insects, which in all probability constitute 

 their principal food during the breeding-season. 



" These birds, I understand, are getting every year more and more scarce in the neighbour- 

 hood of the lakes ; and from the numbers that are annually killed by the anglers at Keswick 

 and the vicinity (their feathers having long been held in high estimation for dressing artificial 

 flies), it is extremely probable that in a few years they will become so exceedingly rare that 

 specimens will be procured with considerable difficulty. I have subjoined the names of some 

 of the principal mountains in this county on which Dottrels have been known to breed, and I 

 have also added, as far as practicable, their elevation above the level of the sea, under the idea 

 that this information may prove of some utility to the naturalist who may hereafter feel inclined 

 to investigate the manners of this species in the same district." The mountains enumerated by 

 Mr. Heysham are Helvellyn, Whiteside, Whatson Dod, and Great Dod 3055 feet above the sea- 

 level, Saddleback 2787 feet, Skiddaw 3022 feet, Carrock FeU 2110 feet, Grassmore 2756 feet, 

 Robinson 2292 feet, Gold Scalp 1114 feet, Great Gavel 2925 feet. 



As above stated, the Dotterel still breeds in Scotland ; and Captain Feilden, who took its 

 nest on the borders of Perth- and Inverness-shires on the 16th June 1873, has favoured me with 

 the following notes : — " The top of the mountain we had ascended was a flattish oval, about three 

 quarters of a mile long by a quarter of a mile broad ; being fully exposed to the sun, every scrap 

 of snow had disappeared from its summit, which was clad with soft moss (Trichostomum lanugi- 

 nosum) intermixed with dwarf cranberries and other alpine plants ; small rounded fragments of 



