THE GOLDEN PLOVER 205 



much utilised as a nesting site. The nest is scantily 

 lined with pieces of lichen or dried stems of grass. 



The young remain in the nest only a few hours after 

 hatching off. They are prettily-coloured chicks, clad in 

 down of pale golden yellow, and mottled over with black, 

 their under parts are white. Over each eye runs a white 

 lateral stripe, and this line continues down the back ; 

 when fledged they are brownish black, spotted with bright 

 yellow above. 



Even when the young are just hatching off, the parent 

 bird at times broods very lightly, and leaves the nest when 

 the intruder is still quite 100 yards distant. I have noticed 

 that sometimes both Plover call repeatedly until one has 

 actually discovered the nest, when they stand about 

 quietly, realising that it is no longer possible to lead one 

 away from their eggs or young. 



On Morven, in Aberdeenshire, a great many pairs of 

 Golden Plover nest every spring, and even above the 2000- 

 feet contour they have quite a number of Lapwings as 

 their companions. It is of interest here to note the 

 difference in the behaviour of the two different species 

 when their nesting ground is invaded. The Lapwing, 

 ever on the alert, move backward and forward over their 

 ground with tireless energy. But the Golden Plover 

 rarely take wing, though they, too, are sensible that their 

 home is being invaded ; they stand quietly near, and their 

 piping cry resounds through the moor. The flight, too, 

 of the Golden Plover has little resemblance to that of 

 the Lapwing. It is not so erratic as that of the Peewit, 

 and the bird can forge through the air at great speed 

 with little effort, whereas with the Lapwing rapid and 

 sustained flight is unusual. 



Again, the Golden Plover is a peace-loving bird, the 

 Lapwing a bom fighter. Any feathered visitor, from a 

 Starling to a Heron, is driven off with fury by the Green 



