THE DOTTREL, (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 forehead 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 appearance 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 Berkshire. 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 endeavouring to imitate the actions of the fowler, and thereby falling into the snare laid for him; but they ought to be entirely disbelieved.
