REPRODUCTION— NIDIFICATION 191 



uniformity and tradition, so to speak, in the matter of nest- 

 building. 



The majority lay their eggs on the bare ground, in a slight 

 natural depression, or in a shallow cup formed by the birds 

 themselves. The site chosen may be meadow-land or barren 

 heath, or sandy or shingly beaches. 



The Redshank alone among the Plovers weaves a dome of 

 growing grass above its eggs. The Little Ringed Plover, on the 

 other hand, trusts to the protective resemblance of its eggs to 

 their immediate surroundings. In some cases these eggs are 

 deposited in the bare sand or shingle ; in others a pavement 

 of small stones or shells is prepared for their reception. 



The Wood Sandpiper {Totanus glareola) and the Green 

 Sandpiper {T. ochropus) differ in yet more striking fashion 

 from their congeners. The former appears generally to fashion 

 a rude nest on the ground, near water, but in Siberia it generally 

 uses the deserted nests of Fieldfares high up in trees ! Similarly, 

 the Green Sandpiper nests occasionally on the ground or on 

 moss-covered stumps, but more usually the eggs are laid in old 

 squirrels' "dreys," the nests of Song and Missel-thrushes, Black- 

 birds, Jays and Ring-doves ! 



The Gull tribe normally nest on the ground, content with 

 the merest apology for a nursery, yet, on occasion, they will 

 build in trees thirty feet or more from the ground. 



The Terns again, as may be seen on a visit to any breeding 

 colony on our coasts, display considerable individual differences 

 in this respect. The Common Tern, for example {Sterna 

 fluviatilis), may be content with a bare scrape in the sand, or 

 may build a quite bulky nest of weeds. These differences seem 

 to be inexplicable, to be due to individual idiosyncrasies, since 

 various gradations of perfection, from a mere bare depression 

 to a relatively elaborate nest, may be found in the same colony, 

 and within a relatively small area. 



The innate capacity for building displayed by the British 

 species of Tern is possessed in a more highly developed and 

 more stable degree in some exotic species, as for example in the 

 Noddy-tern {Anous stolidus). This bird commonly rears its 

 young in trees or low bushes, building a nest of mud, sea-weed 

 and grass. More curious still, the White-tern {Gygis Candida) 

 will lay its single &^g on a coral reef, or any slight cavity of 



