ii6 Stone Curlew 



In the 40 years that have elapsed, since then a considerable further 

 reduction has certainly taken place. 



In i8gi, I wrote a short paper* on this bird, dealing with my 

 own part of Suffolk only (the coast hne between Aldeburgh and 

 Dunwich), and I then prophesied that the days of the Stone Curlew 

 in that district were numbered, and their ultimate extermination 

 merely a question of time. Eighteen years have elapsed, and I am 

 rejoiced to think that so far my forebodings show no sign of fulfil- 

 ment. I even venture to hope that their numbers are on the increase, 

 for in this last season (1908) I believe there were more Plovers on 

 our ground than has been the case for many years. But here they 

 have been most strictly protected, eggs and birds alike, and, I repeat, 

 unless such protection is afforded them, the species will certain!}^ 

 be exterminated. 



In the 18th, and beginning of the 19th centuries, Bustards were 

 a familiar sight in many parts of England ; their size and strength 

 rendered them secure from most enemies, but they possessed the fatal 

 habit of depositing their eggs in the young corn. This was sown 

 broadcast, and little more was done until the time came to harvest 

 the crop. Here the Bustards hatched their young, and reared them 

 successfully. Presently changes took place in the practice of farm- 

 ing. New methods were introduced to prevent waste in the sowing 

 of the seed, and to afford protection to the growing crop ; the 

 mechanical drill and the horse-hoe were brought into common use. 



These innovations sounded the knell of the Bustards. They 

 continued to lay their eggs in the corn as before, but the corn now 

 lay in straight, regular drills, and up and down these drills travelled 

 the horse-hoe. Every egg on the field was either smashed by the 

 machine or taken by the labourers in attendance. This simple 

 invention, in the course of a few years, exterminated the Bustards, 

 which had flourished in the country, we kuGiv, since 1527, and 

 probably for centuries before that. 



The case of the Stone Curlew is somewhat different. He has, 

 like most ground-breeding birds, many enemies against whom he 

 must ever be on the watch. All egg-eating vermin are a constant 

 source of danger. Necessity continually compels him to leave the ■ 

 eggs unattended ; the passing rook pounces down and speedily 

 spoils the nest ; stoats, weasels, rats, and hedgehogs are partial to 

 an egg omelette. The eggs have a certain market value, and are 

 constantly taken by shepherds' boys and farm-labourers, unless 

 strict watch is kept. 



From their position they are very liable to be trampled on 

 accidentally by sheep and cattle grazing on "the walks," or may 

 easily be spoilt by a late frost. On occasion, too, they deposit 

 their eggs on arable land, and in that case, their eggs are frequently 

 smashed when the roller passes over the field in spring. 



The egg is the dominant factor in the survival of the Stone 



* The Zoologist, December, 1891, p. 441. 



