38 Northern Observations of Inland Birds 



of a bird having been spoiled, her second treasures were 

 under the protection of the law by the time she had 

 produced them. She lost her first clutch, which merely 

 set back her nesting for a few days, and in the days before 

 there was any close season I have known individual lap- 

 wings to be nesting till well on into the summer, owing 

 to the repeated loss of their early eggs. 



Now let us consider what the taking of the first clutch 

 means. As has already been shown it does not entail a 

 direct loss to the species, for the bird at once lays again. 

 The result is that the young birds, when they appear, 

 have the advantage of being several days later than they 

 would have been, and consequently they are less likely to 

 be killed by storms. The loss of young birds is a direct 

 loss to the species ; it means a month wasted, and, there- 

 fore, the bird which would have reared two broods, now 

 rears only one. 



But there is a more important point than this. Hundreds 

 — nay thousands — of the first eggs laid are destroyed by 

 snow and frost. The old bird does not know that they 

 are addled, and continues to incubate them till well on 

 into the season. By the time she realizes that there is 

 " nothing doing," the season is so far advanced that it 

 is even doubtful whether she lays again. Thus the bird 

 which would — had she been robbed of her first frost- 

 addled eggs — have produced two broods of chicks, now 

 produces none at all, or at the best only one brood. 

 These notes are based on very close observation, and I 

 am convinced that, always with the proviso that the 

 dates of the old close season be observed, the collecting 

 of lapwing eggs is beneficial to the species. It is the 

 taking of eggs at a later date which does the harm, and 

 which is in every way to be discouraged, particularly 

 since half the eggs collected after April tenth are unfit 

 for food. By wholly prohibiting egg collecting we merely 

 encourage secret collecting the season through. 



