370 
Birds. 
THE DOTTEEL, (Charadrius morinellus,) 
Is proverbially accounted a foolish bird, yet why so it is 
hardly possible to say. Its length is about ten inches ; 
the bill is not quite an inch long, and is black. The fore- 
head is mottled with brown and grey ; the top of the 
head is black ; and over each eye there is an arched line 
of white. The back and wings are a light brown ; the 
breast is a pale dull orange ; the middle of the body is 
black, and the rest and the thighs are of a reddish white. 
The tail is brown, black towards the end, and tipped with 
white. This bird is migratory, and makes its appear- 
ance in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and Derbyshire 
in April, but soon leaves those counties and passes on 
towards the north, breeding in the mountains of the 
north of England and Scotland. In April, and sometimes 
in September, Dottrels are seen in Wiltshire and Berk- 
shire. They are generally caught, like other birds, by 
night ; when, dazzled by the light of a torch, they are 
at a loss to know where to fly for safety, the whole place 
being in darkness, and generally select the very spot 
which they should avoid. Many ridiculous stories have 
been propagated about the gestures of this bird, and its 
