.EGIA LITIS. 285 



hillocks of sand or debris and sand which escape beinj; trodden upon. The parent bird becomes 

 very excited when the eggs or young are disturbed, making a plaintive ' peeping' noise as they 

 run or Hy rapidly past the intruder. This species lays chiefly in October and November." 



Dr. Lonsdale Holden made the following notes while resident at Circular Head, on the 

 north-west coast of Tasmania: — "On the 2nd November, 1886, I found a nest of .Jlgialitis 

 moiuuha, with two fresh eggs, on the sand at North Point, Woolnorth, and on the 13th November 

 another with one egg, on the Short Beach at Circular Head. The latter egg was more than 

 half covered with drifted sand, but had only been laid a day, for I had been watching the nest. 

 The birds made this nest weeks before, but it had been filled up with drifted sand and 

 scratched out again many times since; scores of eggs of this and allied species must be engulfed 

 in the sand. Si.\ days later found a nest with two eggs on the sand fifty yards from high 

 water mark, also some freshly scratched out nests close to the water, constructed by the same 

 pair of birds, the only ones on this beach. These birds appear to scratch out many more nests 

 than they ever use. I visit this beach every morning, so am certain about the daily scratching 

 out of sham nests. On the 15th December, 1886, the Rev. H. D. Atkinson found a nest on the 

 same beach with three eggs in it; he took one, which was much incubated. On the 12th 

 January, 1887, in this same locality, found a bird sitting on two eggs, just above high water 

 mark, and on the ist February discovered a nest with one egg in it, and on visiting it four 

 days later there were three eggs. On the 25th September, 1888, found a nest with three 

 hard set eggs in it, just behind the new bathing-house, on the Short Beach, Circular Head, 

 and on the 22nd January, 1890, a nest with two eggs, apparently fresh, above high water 

 mark, on the beach about half a mile from the \illage at Circular Head. X'isiting this nest 

 three days later I found three eggs warm and the bird close by, although the east wind and the 

 high tide had brought the sea well up past the nest, as could be plainly seen by the water mark. 

 On the 22nd February again saw this pair of birds, with one chick running after them, which was 

 clothed in marbled or mottled down ; it sat down and tried to hide itself when pursued. (Jn the 

 6th November, i8go, a nest was discovered far bade from high-water mark, at the mouth of Duck 

 River, containing three fresh eggs." 



The eggs are two or three in number for a sitting, oval in form, usually sloping gently 

 towards the smaller end, seldom pointed or pyriform, the shell being close-grained, smooth and 

 lustreless. They are of a putty-white or a very pale yellowish-grey ground colour, over which 

 is as a rule fairly evenly distributed irregular-shaped dots, spots and markings of black or 

 brownish-black, with a few similar underlying markings of inky-grey. On some specimens 

 the spots and blotches are larger around the thicker end of the shell, where they predominate, 

 and in rare instances form an ill-delined zone. I have before me an abnormally marked set of 

 two, received from Mr. G. A. Heartland, taken on King Island, Bass Strait, on the 4th November, 

 1894; one egg is of the common type, with small irregular-shaped blackish markings evenly 

 distributed over the shell; on the other the markings consist of very small and almost invisible 

 blackish dots, with four large irregular-shaped black markings on the thicker end, the largest of 

 these, which half encircles the shell, resembles an aboriginal holding a shield in defence in his 

 left hand, while the right arm is outstretched to its full extent, the hand grasping a large nulla 

 nulla; these eggs measure respectively: — Length {k) 1-45 x 1-07 inches; (B) 1-47 x 1-05 

 inches. A set of two in the Australian Museum Collection, taken by Mr. Joseph Gabriel, on 

 King Island, measures : — Length (.-V) i'4i x 1-07 inches; (B) 1-46 x 1-03 inches. .\ set of 

 three taken by .Mr. E. D. .\tkinson, on the 4th November, 1S90, on Fossil-bank Beach, Table 

 Cape, on the north-western coast of Tasmania, measures: — Length (A) 1*47 x f07 inches 

 (B) 1-45 X 1-05 inches; (C) 1-5 x i-o6 inches. Another set of three taken by Mr, Atkinson 

 on Seven Mile Beach, in the same part of Tasmania, measures : — Length (.\) 1-38 x 1-07 inches ; 

 (B) 1-43 X i'o6 inches; (C) r44 x 1-03 inches. Mr. .Atkinson also took two sets of three each 



