RINGED PLOVER. 189 



and when about to alight the bird glides, and finally trips 

 forward with uplifted wings ; the speed is never slow, but when 

 amorous pairs indulge in nuptial flight, or when the Merlin 

 strives to fly it down, few birds can excel it. Its actions on the 

 beach when feeding are more energetic and spasmodic than 

 those of the Dunlin, more erratic than the Sanderling's. Its 

 legs twinkle as it runs for a few yards, stops and tilts forward 

 to pick up some tiny crustacean, worm, or mollusc, and at once 

 is off for another run. It will stand, observant, jerking its 

 bullet-head, or for a second raise its wings straight above its 

 back, when the great length of the pointed flights magnifies 

 its size. If nervous it utters a low, musical, but querulus tooe^ 

 or iooli, and when numbers are calling together in a flock, this 

 becomes along, harmonious tooli^ tooli, toolt, tooli, which, though 

 often running into a trill, is the nuptial song, usually uttered 

 on the wing. "Tullet" is a name it gets from its note, 

 " Grundling " (groundling) and " Stone-hatch " from its habits. 

 On migration it frequently visits the banks of rivers, meres, and 

 lakes, and is common on sewage farms ; it often nests inland. 



When the nesting site has been selected, and a few pre- 

 liminary scrapes made in the sand, the male tempt the female 

 to sit, and, trilling the breeding call, will run and sit in 

 one of the hollows. Rivals are boldly attacked then and 

 even after the young are hatched ; the guardian male, with 

 lowered head, trailed wing, tail expanded and depressed, 

 and the feathers of his back raised like the dorsal crest of 

 an angry dog, will boldly attack all comers. In the site and 

 decoration of the nest the bird shows variety and decided 

 aesthetic taste. The pebble ridge above high-water mark 

 is favoured, and there, when eggs are in the depression, the 

 nest is hard to see, but without eggs the lining or paving "of 

 smaller stones or bits of broken shell often gives it away. On 

 sand or grass this lining is even more conspicuous, but often 

 none is used, or only a few bits of weed or chips of wood are 



