rmitted us to approach within a short distance, without showmg any symptoms
when within a few paces, watching their movements, some would
ould remain motionless, now and then stretching out their

When first discovered, they pe
of alarm; and frequently afterwards,
and pick up an insect, others w mae ut th
wings, and a few would occasionally toy with each other, at the same time uttering a few low notes which
' ance to those of the common Linnet. In short, they appeared to be so very indifferent
sistant could not avoid exclaiming, ‘ What stupid birds these

move slow ly about

bad some resembl

with regard to our presence that at last my as . ine ee
, $s eVI srable anxiety for their sa

are!’ The female that had young nevertheless evinced considerable anxiety for their safety whenever we

came near the place where they were concealed, and, as Jong as we remained in the vicinity, constantly flew
Cc Cc ) ,

to and fro above us, uttering her note of alarm.
killed on the 25th of July, was completely covered with pen-feathers, while the belly,

The stomachs I dissected were all filled with the elytra and remains
constitute their principal food during the breeding-

The moulting appears to commence somewhat early with

old birds; a male,
from incubation, was still almost bare.
of small Coleopterous insects, which, in all probability,
season.”

Much as Mr. Heysham bas writte
makes mention of the great disparity in the size of the sexe |
remarkable as both these points are mentioned by Latham. From the unmistakeable evidence of
gest and most richly coloured birds are females, and that

n, and Mr. Yarrell recorded, respecting the Dotterel, neither of them
s, or of the difference in their colouring, which is

the more
actual dissection, I have ascertained that the lar
their average weight is from 6 to 54 ounces, while the comparatively dull-coloured birds, rarely exceeding
4 ounces in weight, are males. I have often thought that the state of plumage in which tunes annie the
spring Is merely a seasonal dress, and that their winter garb is not characterized by that rich colourmg. It
would appear, too, that the young of both sexes, during their first autumn, are destitute of these colours, have
the head of a nearly uniform brown, and the lunate marks of the head and chest. but slightly indicated.

A history of the Dotterel would be sadly incomplete without a passing sentence on the value of the bird
as an article of food and of commerce. During its vernal migration, the Dotterel has from time immemorial
been captured and shot for the purposes of the table; and great numbers are annually forwarded to London,
where, at this season, it may be seen gracing the shops of the respectable poulterers, such as Mr. Bailey, of
Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, and Mr. Fisher, of Duke Street, Piccadilly. The Dotterel in the month of
May, when tbe London season is at its height, and game prohibited, is quite a godsend to the epicure, com-
peting with the fattened Quail and Ortolan, both of which, in my opinion, it far surpasses in succulency and
flavour; indeed, I think it may be regarded as the very finest of the British birds for the table, the Snipe,
Woodcock, and Grouse not excepted. The autumnal migration of these birds does not afford the same
opportunities for procuring them as that of spring; for they return more irregularly, neither do they keep so
exclusively to the downs, but disperse more generally over the country; few autumn-killed birds are
therefore seen in our markets; besides which, Grouse and Partridges being now abundant, they are less in
demand. Like the migratory Quail of the continent of Europe, the young Dotterels of the year far surpass
the adults in flavour. I may add that no present is more acceptable to the epicure and the invalid than two
or three couples of Dotterels: such a gift has been and still is deemed worthy of royalty, and whoever may
have an opportunity of partaking of this delicious viand will not be disappointed.

Though perhaps not so swift as that of the Golden Plover, the flight of the Dotterel is extremely rapid ;
when disturbed, they take long flights for a mile or more, and then, suddenly wheeling round, often return to
the spot whence they had risen. The usual mode of shooting them is to walk quickly round the trip, and
gradually to diminish the circle until within range, when they become confused and are readily killed. They
move over the ground with great rapidity, grace and elegance characterizing all their movements. They
so love to dust themselves in the fallows or on the hill-sides, that a friend of mine, the late Mr. Hewitt, of
Reading, informed me he had frequently seen them cover themselves entirely, with the exception of the head,
by scratching the dust over them.

The eggs, which are generally three in number, are deposited in a depression of the ground; they are of
a yellowish olive, blotched and spotted with dark-brownish black, and are one inch seven and a half lines in
length by one inch two and a half fines in breadth.

The female has the crown of the head dark brown, striated with buff, a broad streak of white passing over
each eye and uniting at the occiput; throat white, striated on the cheeks and lower part with fine lines of
STOW: neck and breast olive, bounded below by a narrow fascia of black, succeeded by a broader one of
white; below this the abdomen and flanks are rufous, with a large patch of black in the centre of the latter ;
me and under tail-coverts white ; wings and upper surface olive-brown, each feather margined with sandy
yuff; primaries dark brown, the outer one with a broad white shaft, and the remainder slightly fringed with

white ; r tail-cove lv 1
| € upper tail-coverts pale olive; base of the tail the same, passing into very dark brown near the
extremity, and the lateral feathers largely tipped with white ;
e >

The Plate irides dark hazel.
1¢ Flate represents a male and female of the size of life