NOTES ON THE PLOVER FAMILY 77 



I'iiriuer. J'ortuiiately for liiiii, in this locality they are 

 pretty well reineseiiled. The most familiar species is 

 probably the Crowned Lapwing {Sicphanihu.v coronatus) 

 known locally as the " Kievietje '', whose characteristic 

 tlight, and loud dolorous cries, are a common feature of 

 the landscape in the neighbourhood of a dam, or piece 

 of swampy ground. This is especially the case in sum- 

 mer time, when they are usually found in pairs. At other 

 seasons they go about in small flocks. 



This bird, which is about eleven and a half inches 

 long, and has a \ying span of about twenty-one inches, 

 is slightly larger than its relative, the Blacksmith Plover 

 (JJoploptenis speciosiis). The latter may be distin 

 guished at a distance by its more metallic note, and 

 when seen closer it lias a white forehead, black throat, 

 and dark slate coloured legs and feet. The true 

 "Kievietje-' < Crowned Lapwing) has a white band en- 

 circling the crowm of the head, from which it takes its 

 name. The throat is white, and the legs and feet red. 

 It is more numerous locally than the Blacksmith Plover, 

 which is usually only seen here in pairs, during the 

 summer months. 



Some years back the pretty little Variegated Sand 

 plover (Charadrius varius) was very common in this dis 

 trict, especially about '' brak '' ground, but during the 

 last few years it has disappeared from many spots which 

 it used regulai'ly to frequent. The reclamation of the 

 land, and draining of '' brak " ground, appear to be forc- 

 ing this handsome little plover out of existence as an 

 inland resident. I found a nest with two eggs on 21st 

 October, lOi:^, on a bare stretch of sand near a vlei. V 

 was simply a hollow scraped in the sand, the eggs being 

 difficult to locate as they lay in a depression below the 

 surface level. The bird slipped off quickly upon being 

 approached, and ran silently away, but not before she 

 had most artfully covered the eggs with loose sand, so 

 that one could at first see nothing but the bare level of 

 the surrounding surface, but closer investigation de- 



