TO ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. 91 



it resorts to the sea-side ; great numbers however 

 leave on the approach of that season for a more 

 southern latitude. 



Charadrius Hiaticula, Linn, Sandy Loo*. 

 Sea Lark. Ring Dotterel. — This bird is very plen- 

 tiful ; it may be met with on almost every shore, 

 sometimes in flocks of twenty. It appears to prefer 

 the sandy margins of the lakes to the sea-side, for 

 I have found it more numerous in such places. It 

 lays its eggs in any slight depression on a small- 

 grained gravelly beach, sometimes just above high- 

 water mark, from which situations I have fre- 

 quently taken them. 



Anser palustris, Flem. Wild Goose. — Consi- 

 derable numbers of this bird visit both countries 

 in the winter, but do not breed there. They may 

 generally be found feeding during the day on 

 swampy ground in the neighbourhood of lakes, 

 but are seldom seen at sea. 



Anser Brenta, Flem. Brent Goose. — This 

 bird is very rare in both Orkney and Shetland. I 

 never saw one in the latter country, though I am 

 informed theyhave sometimes been shot there. On 

 one occasion I saw four in Orkney, three of which 



