148 BULLETIN" 14 6; .UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



it is a common sight to see a big flock rise together on the wing and 

 break up at once into two bodies moving in different directions. 

 Then gradually birds from the smaller body will gravitate toward 

 the larger flock and after a time the two will reunite, but there is a 

 lack of leadership and confidence in their movements which at once 

 distinguishes them from the smartly wheeling flocks of dunlins, knots, 

 or other gregarious waders. Sometimes a party of golden plover will 

 associate on the wing with a flock of lapwing, but here, again, the 

 difference is very striking. 



Enemies. — Probably the rook destroys more eggs and small young 

 than any other foe except man, but the jackdaw, hooded crow, and 

 carrion crow are all apt to devour the eggs. I have seen a sparrow 

 hawk drop from a tree onto a bird rising from its nest and bind 

 onto it for a time, but the lapwing broke free after a struggle. It is 

 not uncommon to find remains of birds on the feeding tables of the 

 sparrow hawk near a breeding ground. The peregrine also some- 

 times takes lapwing, but its erratic tumbling flight renders it a 

 difficult prey. 



Fall. — Ringing has proved that some of the British-reared birds 

 find their way to Iceland, France, and Portugal. In mild winters 

 there are always a considerable number of flocks in our southern 

 counties, but hard frosts or deep snow will cause them to move to the 

 south coast or to emigrate. 



Although a most useful bird from the agriculturist's point of view, 

 the lapwing is shot freely during the autumn and winter, chiefly by 

 shore shooters, while the demand for its eggs as delicacies has also 

 been detrimental to its status. In Holland the earliest clutches are 

 all taken for the market and this has had no injurious effect, as the 

 birds lay again and are then protected strictly. 



DISTRIBUTION • 



Breeding range. — Europe north to the Arctic Circle, the British 

 Isles, but only exceptionally in the Faroes, and not in Iceland. In 

 Finland to latitude 68° on the Muonio River and in Russia north to 

 Archangel. Southward it breeds in Andalusia and in the Balkan 

 Peninsula to Macedonia, but not in Greece or the Mediterranean 

 Islands. Breeding in Morocco requires confirmation. It also breeds 

 across Asia east to the Pacific, south to Transcaspia and Yarkand. 



Winter range. — ^IMany birds winter in the British Isles, but on the 

 Continent they move to southern Europe and northern Africa, visit- 

 ing the Atlantic isles occasionally (Canaries, Madeira, etc.). In 

 Asia, Asia Minor, Palestine, Iraq, Persia, and north India, China, 

 North Burma, and Japan. 



