214 BIRDS. 
Observed very commonly on the Holborn uplands, on 
the stony moor where the wind has cut away the turf on 
the ridges. Also all along the north coast where suitable 
ground occurs ; distinctly rarer on cliff-tops elsewhere than 
at Holborn Head, at which locality alone in similar situa- 
tions the ground is eminently suited to their nesting habits. 
284. Vanel I us vulgaris, ^ecAsi. Lapwing. 
Kesident, and abundant ; though much scarcer in winter than 
at other times. These birds ascend all the straths where 
they can find suitable places to build, even going quite into 
the centre of the county; the great bulk depart further 
south after the breeding season. More local in the west, 
but abundant in one or two localities, and occasionally 
ground not before frequented is taken up by a few pairs, as, 
for instance, on the flat meadows along the course of the 
river Loanan, near Inchnadamph, of late years. 
This is an abundant species in the county during the spring 
and summer, and in mild seasons a few stragglers remain 
throughout the year ; the great bulk of the native-bred birds 
leave in the autumn for the south. Owing to the spread 
of cultivation the lapwing is not nearly as common as 
formerly, especially in the parish of Wick, and in the 
vicinity of the coast villages (0. MSS., 1868). 
Observed abundantly in 1885. 
285. Strepsilas interpres {L.). Turnstone. 
Common the whole year round the coast, excepting during the 
breeding season, from the middle of May to the middle or 
end of July, when it is much scarcer, although stray in- 
dividuals occur even then. 
Mr. Osborne considers this a very rare species on the Caith- 
ness coast, having seen only one or two, and these in Wick 
Bay (0. MSS., 1868). 
