Il8 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



dropped again when startled by clods thrown into the water, 

 and when at last we got it up, it flew swiftly, rather like a 

 Ringed Plover, but soon returned to the water. As it flew, a 

 long angled white stripe — the edges of the coverts — crossed the 

 open wing. Sometimes it dipped head and neck when feeding, 

 sometimes jumped to catch a flying insect, and it constantly 

 uttered a short weak pipe— //<?^/, pleep — but this was the only 

 note we heard. Other notes are described, including a trill 

 like the Ringed Plover when courting. This bird did not 

 swing round and round as if on a pivot, a habit noticed by some 

 watchers, the object being to stir up the bottom or draw insects 

 and crustaceans into the eddy formed by the movement. 

 Probably a similar result follows the rotary motion of the 

 Spoonbill's bill, previously referred to. When bathing, the bird 

 will swing the body to and fro, hinged on the legs, or quaintly 

 roll from side to side, as it throws the water over the plumage. 

 The Red-necked Phalarope arrives at its British breeding 

 haunts early in June, and seldom remains after the end of 

 August. It is never numerous on passage, and either the 

 nesting area is reached by a somewhat circuitous sea-route or 

 by a high, uninterrupted, overland journey. The female usually 

 courts ^nd often bullies the male ; however, on one pool Mr. 

 P. H. Bahr saw two females worrying one rather reluctant male, 

 and two males circling round another female. Miss Best and 

 Miss Haviland watched four or five females forcing attentions on 

 one apparently annoyed male. During these competitions the 

 rival hens often fight. Even when the male has yielded to the 

 wiles of a successful suitor, he is not in a hurry to take over his 

 effeminate duties ; Miss Turner watched one being conducted 

 by his mate, and whenever he strove to have a short nap 

 (Plate 49), she literally " henpecked " him into activity. The 

 nest is as a rule well concealed, and after the four eggs (Plate 44) 

 are laid, most if not all the incubation is performed by the male. 

 The nestlings, clad at first in golden down which soon pales. 



