114 EGYPTIAN BIRDS 



his faithful dentist and immediately opens his jaws 

 and releases the prisoner, to whom one hopes he 

 expresses profound regret. 



It is to be seen on the sand-banks in Lower 

 Egypt, but gets noticeably less frequent as one 

 journeys into Upper Egypt, and one is disposed 

 to think is growing less in number year by year, as 

 so many of the pure river-side birds are, by reason 

 of the now continually passing, noisy, wash-pro- 

 ducing steamers. 



It seems to be distinctly a quarrelsome bird, 

 anyhow when breeding, and both male and female 

 are more often than not to be seen having 

 some row or another with some poor inoffensive 

 bird who has ventured too near their nest. At 

 times it stands up practically perpendicular, and 

 jerks its head and body up and down with clock- 

 work regularity till the cause of its upset has 

 ceased, when it draws in its head and sinks it 

 deep between its shoulders, as is shown in the 

 accompanying drawing. Its nest is a mere de- 

 pression in the sand, and it lays three or four eggs 

 which are very similar to our common Green 

 Plover or Lapwing. 



Von Heuglin relates a Mohammedan legend : 

 That Allah, having asked all things great and small 



