102 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



twice a week, contenting myself with springing 

 one or other, sometimes both of the old birds by the 

 aid of my retriever ; on one occasion I failed to find 

 any Grouse on the accustomed ground, and so 

 stretched myself at full length in the heather to 

 watch and listen ; in this particular spot I had 

 previously seen no birds except the Grouse, a pair of 

 Meadow-Pipits, and now and then one or two Ring- 

 Ouzels ; but on this occasion I had not been long in 

 in my " cache " before a Curlew coming up from 

 behind me stooped close to my head \\\i\\ a scream 

 so startling and uncanny that, although I had been 

 quite awake and keeping a sharp look-out, for a 

 second or two I felt as if I had been bewitched, 

 and can well understand the superstitious dislike 

 entertained for these birds in many parts of Scotland ; 

 our long-billed friend, recovering from her first stoop, 

 turned sharply and repeated the operation several 

 times, once actually brushing my cap Mith a stroke 

 of her wing, she also made several fierce dashes 

 at the dog ; as long as we sat still the bird was never 

 out of gunshot, but on my rising to my feet she 

 retired to a safe distance, and was soon joined by her 

 mate. I very soon found the nest within a few 

 yards of my hiding-place, but it was empty, and my 

 dog, though possessed of an excellent nose, was only 

 a puppy, and so bewildered by the clamour of the 

 old Curlews that he would not hunt for the young, 

 which were no doubt keeping close in the long 

 heather and cotton-grass that surrounded us ; at 

 all events I could not discover even one of them, and 

 on my next visit did not see so much as a feather of 

 a Curlew. In Scotland the young Curlews come 

 down from the moors about the beginning of the 



