THE STONE-CURLEW 183 



head held high ; and if you approach it runs rapidly for a 

 little way, then rises into the air. The Stone- Curlew becomes 

 most active at dusk, and during the warm summer nights its 

 loud and plaintive note may be incessantly heard high up in 

 the air, as the bird flies to and fro above the heath. Its large 

 prominent eye informs us that it is a night feeder, and in this 

 respect it shows a closer affinity with the Plovers than with 

 the Bustards. In the gloom it searches for the worms and 

 snails and beetles on which it feeds ; but it also catches frogs, 

 and even lizards and field mice. 



By the end of April, or very early in May, the Stone- 

 Curlew has commenced breeding. I have taken its eggs in 

 Lincolnshire during the first week in May. The nest is most 

 difficult to find, as the old birds do little to betray its where- 

 abouts. At the first sign of your appearance on the heath 

 which contains their nest the ever-watchful female quits her 

 eggs, the warning note being given by the sentinel male, 

 and running along some distance from her home she usually 

 takes wing, and both the birds fly away to a distant part of 

 their haunt. You must always search the barest ground for 

 the eggs of the Stone-Curlew — places where the heather has 

 been burned in previous years, leaving the ground rough and 

 stony, or where the peat has been dug for fuel by the peas- 

 antry. The nest is but a shallow hollow in the ground, without 

 lining of any kind, and the eggs are two in number, buff in 

 ground colour, spotted and blotched and streaked with brown 

 of various shades and light gray. Some eggs are covered with 

 streaky markings instead of spots. They resemble those of 

 the Oystercatcher, but may readily be distinguished by their 

 smaller size. They are eminently protective in colour, and 

 require the sharpest eyes to detect them from surrounding 

 objects. In the number of the eggs the naturalist will notice 

 a close affinity to the Bustards — all true Plovers lay four. 

 The young run soon after they are hatched, and when 



