62 TENTATORES. PROBERS. 



The habits of the Cursorial birds are little known ; but 

 those of the Tentatorial are patent to the observation of all 

 who traverse our fields and moors, or have occasion to visit 

 the sandy shores of the sea. The Lapwing, the Golden 

 Plover, and the common Ring-Plover, fly up to an intruder, 

 keep hovering over and around him, or alight, and manifest 

 the greatest anxiety and anger. The males sometimes, but 

 generally the females, will move crouchingly to some dis- 

 tance, and flutter on the ground, as if mortally wounded, 

 limp as if one of their legs were broken, or shew a fractured 

 or dislocated wing, hanging or whirling about in a most 

 surprisingly simulative manner. The object of all this pre- 

 tended distress is obviously to withdraw the attention of 

 men, dogs, polecats, weasels, foxes, crows, or other animals 

 from their nests, and attract it to themselves. If you come 

 up to one of these birds fluttering apparently in extreme 

 agony, it will not cease its display of suffering until you are 

 very near it, when it will limp away with drooping wings, 

 keeping so little ahead that you feel sure of catching it ; but 

 gradually as it removes from the nest, it revives, and when 

 it has drawn you far enough to render it difficult for you to 

 find again the spot whence you were enticed, it will fly off 

 cxultingly, emitting perhaps a merry note, as if conscious of 

 the success of its stratagem. The unsophisticated bird, 

 " pure from the hand of nature," and with morals uncon- 

 taminated, actually practises deceit. It sees an enemy 

 approaching its young ; it feels alarmed for their safety, and, 

 knowing that it has not strength to drive off the aggressor, 

 it essays to mislead and bewilder him. Knowing that the 

 intruder has a propensity to seize or destroy even a poor 

 little innocent bird, it runs away a little, and then shews a 

 broken leg and a shattered wing, as if it said, " See, how 

 easy it is for you to catch me, when I can neither run fast 

 nor fly at all." Then it pretends to try to rise on wing, and 

 falls over on one side, but is up again, and limps along. 

 " Come, you may be quite sure of me if you follow. No need 

 of salt ; but if you have some, you see how easy it is to put 

 it on my tail." So the chace commences, and soon ends in 

 disappointment to the pursuer, avIio cannot help laughing at 



