54 ADVENTURES AMONG BIRDS 



and puffed-out feathers, lower their heads until the tips 

 of their beaks touch the ground, at the same time sinking 

 their voices until the drumming sound dies to a whisper. 

 The performance is then over, and is repeated, or if the 

 visitor is in a hurry he takes his departure, to rejoin 

 his mate and receive a visitor himself by-and-by. 



One dry summer, long after the breeding-season was 

 over while out riding I passed by a lagoon, or lakelet, 

 where the birds from all the plain for some miles round 

 were accustomed to come to drink, and noticed a gather- 

 ing of about a hundred lapwings standing quietly near 

 the water. It was evident they had all had their drink 

 and bath, and were drying and greening their feathers 

 and resting before going back to their several feeding- 

 grounds. On seeing them^my attention was instantly 

 arrested by the singular behaviour of two birds, the only 

 restless noisy ones in that quiet, silent company. It was 

 not a close company; every bird had a good space to 

 himself, his nearest neighbour standing a foot or more 

 away, and right in among them the two restless birds 

 were trotting freely about, uttering loud commanding 

 notes, and apparently greatly excited about something. 

 I had seen nothing like that before, and it puzzled me 

 to account for their action. By-and-by there was a 

 fresh arrival; a lapwing came to drink, and instead of 

 dropping down on the edge of the water, he alighted 

 about thirty feet away, at a distance of two or three 

 yards from the others, and remained there, standing 

 erect and motionless as if waiting. The two busy birds, 

 still crying aloud, now made their way to him, and 



