When first discovered, they permitted us to approach within a short distance, without showing any symptoms
o f a la rm ; and frequently afterwards, when within a few paces, watching their movements, some would
move slowly about and pick up an insect, others would remain motionless, now and then stretching out their
wings, and a few would occasionally toy with each other, at the same time uttering a few low notes which
had some resemblance to those of the common Linnet. In short, they appeared to be so very indifferent
with regard to our presence that at last my assistant could not avoid exclaiming, ‘ W hat stupid birds these
a r e ! ’ The female that had young nevertheless evinced considerable anxiety for their safety whenever we
came near the place where they were concealed, and, as long as we remained in the vicinity, constantly
flew to and fro above us, uttering h er note o f alarm. The moulting appears to commence somewhat early with
old b irds; a male, killed on the 25th o f July, was completely covered with pen-feathers, while the belly,
from incubation, was still almost bare. The stomachs I dissected were all filled with the elytra and remains
of small Coleopterous insects, which, in all probability, constitute their principal food during the breeding-
season.”
Much as Mr. Heysham has written, and Mr. Yarrell recorded, respecting the Dotterel, neither o f them
makes mention of the great disparity in the size of the sexes, o r of the difference in their colouring, which is the
more remarkable as both these points are mentioned by Latham. From the unmistakable evidence o f
actual dissection, I have ascertained that the largest and most richly coloured birds are females, and that
their average weight is from 5 to 5-f ounces, while the comparatively dull-coloured birds, rarely exceeding
4 ounces in weight, are males. I have often thought th at the state of plumage in which they arrive
in the spring is merely a seasonal dress, and that their winter garb is not characterized by that rich
colouring. I t would appear, too, that the young o f both sexes, during their first autumn, are destitute of
these colours, have the head of a nearly uniform brown, and the lunate marks o f 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 o f food and o f commerce. During its vernal migration, the Dotterel has from time immemorial
been captured and shot for the purposes of the tab le ; and g reat numbers are annually forwarded to London,
where, a t this season, it may be seen gracing the shops of the respectable poulterers, such as Mr. Bailey, o f
Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, and Mr. Fisher, o f Duke Street, Piccadilly. The Dotterel in the month o f May,
when the London season is at its height, and game prohibited, is quite a godsend to the epicure, competing
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 o f 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 o f the year far surpass
the adults in flavour. 1 may add that no present is m ore acceptable to the epicure and the invalid than two
or three couples of Do tterels: such a gift has been and still is deemed worthy o f royalty, and whoever may
have an opportunity of partaking of this delicious viand will not be disappointed.
Though perhaps not so swift as that o f the Golden Plover, the flight of the Dotterel is extremely r a p id ;
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 o f mine, the late Mr. Hewitt,
o f Reading, informed me he had frequently seen them cover themselves entirely, with the exception o f the
head, by scratching the dust over them.
The eggs, which are generally three in number, are deposited in a depression of the g ro u n d ; 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 lines in breadth.
The female has the crown o f the head dark brown, striated with buff, a broad streak o f white passing over
each eye and uniting at the occiput; throat white, striated on the cheeks and lower part with fine lines of
brown; neck and breast olive, bounded below by a narrow fascia o f 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 o f the la tte r ;'
vent and under tail-coverts white; wings and upper surface olive-brown, each feather margined with sandy
buff; primaries dark brown, the outer one with a broad white shaft, and the remainder slightly fringed with
white; upper tail-coverts pale olive; base of the tail the same, passing into very dark brown ne&r the
extremity, and the lateral feathers largely tipped with w h ite ; irides dark hazel.
The Plate represents a male and female o f the size of life.