122 CHARADRIUS 1IIATICULA. 



large end hemispherical, or a little flattened ; their average 

 length an inch and five-twelfths, their greatest breadth eleven- 

 twelfths and a half, their colour greyish-yellow, sparsely 

 covered all over with dots, small spots, and angular linear 

 markings of brownish-black and purplish-grey, On finding 

 the eggs on the beach one can scarcely believe that they 

 belong to so small a bird. The young are capable of running 

 the moment after they leave the eggs, and, when their 

 parents are away, crouch among the stones, but separately. 

 When sitting on her eggs, the female will sometimes remain 

 until a person comes close, when she will run limping along, 

 to entice him to pursue her ; but more commonly she quietly 

 leaves the nest, while he is yet at a distance, runs a con- 

 siderable way in silence, then stops, utters her cry, and 

 endeavours to attract his notice, or flies up to him, and goes 

 off in another direction. No birds manifest more anxiety 

 about their eggs and young. They often come up to within 

 a few yards of a person sauntering in their vicinity, feign 

 lameness, and run limpingly along for some distance. If 

 this does not suffice to entice the intruder, they droop one of 

 their wings, as if it had been broken or dislocated, and 

 shuffle aAvay some yards farther. Then, perhaps, both wings 

 seem broken, and the bird tumbles about in the most sur- 

 prising manner. If you now run up, it remains in the 

 agonies of death until you are within a few yards, when, 

 suddenly reviving, it starts upon its feet, emits a lively note, 

 runs a little way, springs into the air, and is off at full 

 speed, wheeling from side to side, and joyously whistling as 

 it proceeds. It now makes a very wide circuit, and comes 

 up in your rear, but remains motionless until you pass on. 

 In its attempts to decoy persons from its nest, I have some- 

 times seen it fly off at once to the distance of a hundred 

 yards or more, spread out its wings and tail, and tumble as 

 if in a fit of epilepsy. 



But although by far the greater number of individuals 

 nestle on the sea-shore, and remain there all the year, many 

 are to be found on the pebbly beaches of rivers, such as the 

 Spey and the Dee, and even in the pastures by the sides of 

 muddy or sandy streams in low districts. Sometimes, also, 



