HABITS OF THE WHIMBREL. 243 
alights more prominently, on the ridge, as if courting observa- 
tion. But—and note the fact—both birds at times exercise the 
reverse actions. Then it becomes still more difficult to locate 
the nest or eggs or partly freed young. As ascertained, the hen 
or incubating parent may run from the nest—or young, if hatched 
ofi—quite a hundred yards in some instances, before rising, 
and the rise off the ground often takes place when the human 
ficure has advanced some distance from the sky-line, and some 
little time after the first loud warning notes from the bird acting 
sentry. It may, or may not be, that the young are secreted 
prior to the first loud warning-note of the sentry. That may, 
and probably does, depend upon the relative positions of the 
two birds, &e. 
In the great circular hollow I treat of, there is scarcely a 
place of concealment or cover enough to conceal a man either 
during approach down its long sloping sides, or anywhere in 
an upright pose, and especially is this the characteristic of these 
Whimbrel-haunted saucer-like depressions of the Shetland Isles 
generally frequented by the species. So long as the intruder 
shows himself boldly and walks about, both birds are comparatively 
silent (both birds can see!), but when he lies down both birds are 
at first full of ‘challenge and alarm. (My clothes were of a bad 
colour for this sort of work—blue serge—and may well have 
added to my unsuccesses.) 
In the close neighbourhood of where I believed now the 
young to be—and as I afterwards knew them to be—I dropped 
into a natural hollow or dry ‘‘swallow”-hole. My horizon was 
now from fifteen to twenty feet only, and, on the other hand, I 
could not be seen by the birds except from the sky above. 
Around the rim was a thick growth of green and long grass. I 
thought to tire out the (? incubating) bird—as had been done 
before with other species—spring up and surprise her (or him) 
off the eggs. But I soon saw that was futile. The male bird 
came over me at intervals, saying: ‘‘I see you! I see you! 
Ha, ha!” &e. A Lesser Black-backed Gull came over, and from 
the bullying he got till he passed the charmed circle, I feel sure 
I was very near the young! I gave in, and walked away a good 
quarter of a mile. I looked back, and saw one bird floating in 
the air and tumbling, as if in gladness. I dropped into a handy 
U2 
