BIRDS. 



325 



By 1878 or 1879 the Greenshank was first known to Col. 

 Drummond Hay to have nested on the Moor of Eannoch — not, he 

 told me, prior to that time — but see later. In 1878 one of the eggs 

 of a clutch taken on the Moor of Rannoch was shown to him unblown 

 by Mr. Carrington. Now in 1903 they are quite common at a good 

 many localities known to us. The nest and eggs of this bird are 

 represented in the Museum at Perth. 



The above notes, if very full in detail, are so because I think the 

 continuous history of the spread of this species ought to be given, in 

 continuance of our notes in former volumes of this series ; and readers 

 who are interested in such movements may read back, and then form 

 their own opinions as to the reasons wh}'. 



As already indicated, the Greenshank is got on the coast, though 

 not in large numbers nor in big flocks. Montrose Basin appears as 

 one of its haunts — one is entered under date of "September 1884." 

 This, and others got along the coast at likely places, may have 

 been bred in this country, or they may have come from abroad ; I 

 do not pretend to decide any such question now. (One has to 

 exercise some care in these days, lest such opinions expressed be 

 judged as the results of mere theory and preconceived ideas ; or they 

 may justly be considered as resulting from long-thought-out deduc- 

 tions from a large accumulation of facts brought together with 

 scrupulous care and a fairly accurate geographical knowledge of the 

 country.) Xow I only act up to the above expressed idea when I 

 further suggest that it is possible that the first occupation of Dal- 

 whinnie Moor took place after that at Rannoch, and was probably 

 influenced from that direction ; though I do not mean to uphold such 

 an opinion against any equally likely avenue of approach from, say, 

 the east or north, or from the valley of the Spey. 



Feilden and I got the eggs of the Dotterel about the 22nd June, 

 and the young Greenshanks were taken some days earlier. I well 

 remember this fact without referring to journals, as Feilden had to 

 rejoin his regiment post-haste ; and we travelled down in a composite 

 luggage train and third-class carriage in the small hours of the morn- 

 ing after we found the Dotterel's eggs beyond Drumouchter.^ 



In SmalFs Registers I find that the first Greenshank he had got 

 from Perthshire was sent to him from Blairgowrie on 30th January 



^ Ecerything that night was joyous, / remember (and so does Feildcu), except one 

 little circumstance which is perhaps foreign to our present purpose or to the subject 

 of this book. 



