, ( 139 ) 



A DIARY OF ORNITHOLOGICAL OBSERVATION MADE 

 IN ICELAND DURING JUNE AND JULY, 1912. 



By Edmund Selous. 



(Continued from p. 68.) 



June 30£/i. — After a little while he came down from the 

 turves, walked a little, still " wittying," then, all at once, 

 became both silent and invisible. It was not till close on 8 p.m. 

 that I saw him again, and at once, became interested, for he was 

 drawing towards the nest, in a stealthy manner, and quite 

 silently. When still at a little distance, he rose and flew over 

 it, alighting about as far off on the other side. A moment or 

 two afterwards, the sitting bird rose, and, flying over her mate, 

 came down a good deal farther away. Not being able to turn 

 the glasses on both birds at once, and fearful of losing the male 

 in his expected approach, I covered the now empty nest with 

 them, and very soon saw a bird creep quietly up, and take its 

 place, upon it. As soon as this was a fait accompli, I redirected 

 the glasses to where the previously sitting bird had gone down, 

 when they instantly picked her up again, standing in the same 

 place, and preening herself. The change was accomplished a 

 minute or two after 8. Now I come to think of it, it is, most 

 probably, the male that has been sitting, and the female who has 

 now taken her place on the nest for the night, unless, indeed, 

 there should be a later change, but this is not so probable. In 

 any case, both sexes incubate. Assuming that I have differen- 

 tiated them (this last time) correctly, the approach of the female 

 to the nest, with the way in which she sunk down upon it, was 

 much more stealthy than that of the male, who also sat higher 

 than his partner is now doing. 



On leaving, I walked towards the nest, to see if this bird, too, 

 would fly off it, like the other, or creep away stealthily along the 

 ground ; but she also flew, though not before I had got much 

 nearer. I then walked to another Whimbrel's nest — found that 



