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BIED NESTING IN THE NORTH OF 

 ENGLAND. 



BY WALTER RAINE, TORONTO, CANADA. 



il'E are now half way np Ingleborough 

 Mountain, but as we begin to feel 

 tired^and it is three o'clock and the sun is 

 making; round to the west, we do not as- 

 cend to the summit, although it is worth 

 the climb, for a more magnificent panorama 

 is not to be seen anywhere in England than 

 from the summit of Ingleborough. Here 

 in olden times beacon fires were lit to warn 

 the surrounding country that enemies were 

 advancing. It is many years since the 

 beacon fires were wont to send their vivid 

 flames into the air; but last year fires were 

 again heaped upon these summits, not as a 

 token that the Danes were over-running the 

 country, but in commemoration of the 

 Queen's Jubilee. We now turn round and 

 make our way toward Ingleborough village. 

 This side of Ingleborough is very stony, 

 and huge boulders impede our way. Here 

 the Dunlin nests somewhat sparingly. The 

 birds look like mice, running in and out be- 

 tween the stones. Their nests are so small 

 they cannot be found without one actually 

 flushes the bird from under his very nose. 

 The nest is a slight hollow acout three 

 niches in diameter, lined with bits of grass, 

 and most usually contains three or four 

 pointed eggs. In beauty of coloring and 

 elegance of form the eggs of the Dunlin 

 are unrivaled. A series of forty eggs be- 

 fore me show a great variety; the ground 

 color of some specimens is a clear, light 



green, in others, bluish white, whilst some 

 have a yellow stone color; some ai e speckled 

 all over with brown, other specimens are 

 boldly blotched at the larger end with rich 

 brown, but all are very beautiful. 



We now begin to descend the mountain 

 slopes, when a large bird flew from the 

 ground from under my very feet, and I al- 

 most trod upon her-. She exposed to our 

 gaze three handsome eggs of the Golden 

 Plover. The rest was simply a slight de- 

 pression in the ground lined with a few 

 blades of grass. The eggs proved to be 

 partly incubated, which accounted for the 

 bird remaining on the nest so long. The 

 eggs are very large for the bird, and are 

 the handsomest of all the plovers eggs; they 

 are of a warm, yellow stone color, well 

 blotched, chiefly at the larger end, with 

 brown and black, in some specimens the 

 ground color is a pale green; size about 

 2.10x1.40. 



A Red Grouse startles us both as she 

 flies with a loud whir from the heather 

 just before us, and here we found her nest 

 of ten eggs. They were very beautiful and 

 richly colored, differing much in ground 

 color and markings. But it is a risky job 

 taking the eggs of this bird; they are game 

 and protected by law, and a heavy fine is 

 imposed upon any one found taking the 

 eggs. These Grouse moors are famous, 

 and the nobility from the south come up 

 here every season, and on the 12th of Au- 

 gust parties are out at break of day and 

 work and fire away until sunset. Next 

 day the newspapers give long accounts of 

 the day's sport, and how many brace of 



